Overview of AFP fonts
IBM® AFP printers can use FOCA raster
and outline fonts, which are single-byte or double-byte, or TrueType
and OpenType outline fonts.
FOCA fonts
Raster and outline fonts defined by the Font Object
Content Architecture (FOCA) are called FOCA fonts. A FOCA font is
a paired character set and code page that can be used together to
print a string of text characters. FOCA fonts are stored in partitioned
data sets (PDS or PDSE) in font resource libraries.
The different types of FOCA fonts that PSF supports are:
- Raster fonts
- A raster font is a font created by a series of pels arranged to
form an image. Raster fonts are created in a specific point size,
so if you want to use different sizes of the same raster font, you
must store multiple versions of the same font. Raster fonts can have
240-pel or 300-pel formats:
- 240-pel fonts
- 240-pel raster fonts
can be bounded-box or unbounded-box. All IBM AFP printers except
the 3800-3 use bounded-box fonts.
- 300-pel fonts
- Many IBM AFP printers print documents at
300-pel resolution. 300-pel fonts are provided in the optional Compatibility
Fonts feature of PSF, in the AFP Font Collection, Program Number 5648-B33, or in the z/OS® Font
Collection, a base feature of z/OS V2R1,
Program Number 5650-ZOS. Your system programmer can also convert any single-byte
240-pel font in the bounded-box format to a 300-pel font by using
the font-conversion program distributed with PSF. This program, APSRCF30,
is described in PSF for z/OS: Customization.
- Outline fonts
- PSF supports single- and double-byte
outline font technology, in which the character shapes are represented
by mathematical expressions. Because the font shape is defined without
regard to size, outline fonts are scalable; therefore, you only need
to store one version of an outline font, which increases your system
storage space and enhances printing performance. Figure 10 illustrates
how one outline font can be used with many different widths and scale
factors.
Figure 10. Example of text that uses outline fonts
When you use an outline font you must specify a font size and
a horizontal scale factor, which can be specified either in the MO:DCA-P
data stream or in a coded font.
- Single-byte and double-byte fonts
- Some page printers can print with both single-byte and double-byte
fonts. A single-byte font can access up to 256 graphic characters
from a character set. A double-byte font is used for
printing languages whose base alphabets contain more than 256 graphic
characters. To represent all the characters, more than 256 code points
are needed. Therefore, two bytes are used: one byte to identify the
section, and one byte to identify the code point in that section.
An example of a writing system that requires double-byte fonts is
kanji, in which the graphic characters are symbols in Japanese ideographic
alphabets.
- DBCS simulation fonts
- Double-byte character set (DBCS)
simulation fonts are outline fonts that are positioned like the old
DBCS raster fonts, which let you use outline fonts to print applications
that use the old DBCS fonts without changing the application or changing
its appearance. The DBCS simulation fonts are only used for an old
application. Never mix the old DBCS raster fonts with the DBCS core
raster or outline fonts because they are positioned differently.
FOCA fonts are stored in partitioned data sets (PDS or PDSE) in
font resource libraries. A font resource library is composed of three
library-member types:
- A coded font member associates a code page and a
font character set as a pair. A single-byte coded font contains one
code page and font character-set pair. A double-byte raster coded
font, which requires two bytes to identify each graphic character,
contains two or more code page and font character-set pairs; each
pair is called a font section. A double-byte outline font contains
one code page and font character-set pair. IBM requires a prefix of X0-XG and XZ for coded font resource objects.
- A code
page member associates a code point and a graphic character identifier
for each graphic character supported by the code page and specifies
how code points that are not valid are to be processed. IBM recommends a prefix of T1 for code pages.
Extended code pages
are code pages that can contain Unicode values, which a printer that
supports extended code pages uses to print TrueType and OpenType fonts.
Extended code pages can be stored in a partitioned data set (PDS or
PDSE) in a font resource library or in a UNIX file
in a font path library. When stored in UNIX files,
extended code pages must have a .ECP file extension in uppercase format.
For more information, see Using extended code pages.
- A font character set member contains a graphic character
identifier and a raster pattern or outline for each graphic character
in the font or font section, as well as information about how the
characters are to be printed. IBM recommends
a prefix of C0-CG and CZ for
font character sets.
PSF searches for FOCA fonts in any of these repositories:
- Resident in the printer
- If a font is resident or captured in a printer, PSF attempts
to activate the font in the printer. See Using printer-resident fonts and Using captured fonts for more information.
- Inline in the print data set
- PSF looks for the specified font inline after first trying to
activate the printer resident version of the font.
- User
path library
- Extended code pages that are installed in a user path library
can be accessed by PSF. PSF uses z/OS UNIX System Services to access the
code pages in path libraries specified in the USERPATH parameter on
the OUTPUT JCL statement. For more information, see USERPATH.
- User library
- A font that is installed in a user library can be accessed by
PSF. PSF accesses the fonts in PDS or PDSE libraries specified in
the USERLIB parameter on the OUTPUT JCL statement. For more information,
see USERLIB.
PSF attempts to locate all
fonts referenced in the user library after it looks for the printer
resident version first and then the specified font inline. PSF looks
for extended code pages referenced in the user library after it looks
in the user path library.
- System font path library
- Extended code pages that are installed in a system font path
library can be accessed by PSF. PSF uses z/OS UNIX System
Services to access the code pages in path libraries specified in the
FONTPATH parameter on the PRINTDEV statement of the PSF startup procedure.
For more information, see PSF for z/OS: Customization.
PSF
attempts to locate referenced extended code pages in the system font
path library after it first looks in the user path library and then
the user PDS or PDSE library.
- System library
- A font that is installed in a system font library
can be accessed by PSF. PSF accesses the fonts in PDS or PDSE libraries
specified in the FONTDD, FONT240, or FONT300 parameters on the PRINTDEV
statement of the PSF startup procedure. For more information about
specifying the parameters on the PRINTDEV statement, see PSF for z/OS: Customization.
PSF attempts to locate all fonts identified in the system
font library after it looks for the printer resident version, the
specified font inline, and in the user library. PSF looks for extended
code pages referenced in the system library after it looks in the
user path library, the user library, and the system font path library.
TrueType and OpenType fonts
TrueType and OpenType fonts are outline fonts. They consist of
tables that identify the formatting information used to support Unicode
encoding. PSF has these limitations when supporting TrueType and OpenType
fonts:
- PSF does not manage TrueType and OpenType fonts with installation
Exit 7.
- PSF only supports TrueType and OpenType fonts on printers that
support Unicode.
TrueType and OpenType fonts are stored in UNIX files (HFS or zFS files) in font path libraries.
A font path library contains these TrueType and OpenType objects:
- Font
- The basic TrueType and OpenType font element, which is a grouping
of characters with the same typeface and style. A font object is stored
as a single object or file.
- Collection
- A group of TrueType and OpenType fonts collected together and
stored as a single object or file. Font collections are created by
the font vendor.
- Linked font
- A group of TrueType and OpenType fonts that are
associated by linking. One base font object is linked to other TrueType
and OpenType font objects, which are known as linked fonts. When you are using PSF with z/OS V1R13
or earlier, the Font Installer for AFP Systems or the InfoPrint AFP Resource Installer performs
font linking during font installation. When you are
using PSF with z/OS V2R1, the
resource access table for WorldType fonts in the z/OS Font Collection contains linked fonts.
For PSF to use TrueType and OpenType fonts, the fonts must be in
one of these repositories:
- Resident in the printer
- If a TrueType and OpenType font is resident or captured in a
printer, PSF attempts to activate the font from the printer. See Using printer-resident fonts and Using captured fonts for more information.
- Inline in the print data set
- A TrueType and OpenType font can be contained inline in the
print data set if it is wrapped in a MO:DCA-P object container construct.
A wrapped TrueType and OpenType font is used to place the font inline
in the MO:DCA-P data stream. PSF cannot interpret a TrueType and OpenType
font data stream, unless it is contained in MO:DCA-P. PSF looks for
the specified font inline after first trying to activate the printer
resident version of the font.
- User path library
- TrueType and OpenType fonts that are installed in a user path
library can be accessed by PSF. These fonts do not contain any MO:DCA-P
structured fields and, therefore, can be used by other print servers
on multiple operating systems. PSF uses z/OS UNIX System Services to access the
fonts in path libraries specified in the USERPATH parameter on the
OUTPUT JCL statement. For more information, see USERPATH.
PSF
attempts to locate referenced TrueType and OpenType fonts in the user
path library after it looks for the printer resident version first
and then the specified font inline.
- System font path library
- A TrueType and OpenType font that is installed in a system font
path library can be accessed by PSF. These fonts do not contain any
MO:DCA-P structured fields and, therefore, can be used by other print
servers on multiple operating systems. PSF uses z/OS UNIX System
Services to access the fonts in path libraries specified in the FONTPATH
parameter on the PRINTDEV statement of the PSF startup procedure.
For more information about specifying the FONTPATH parameter on the
PRINTDEV statement, see PSF for z/OS: Customization.
PSF
attempts to locate referenced TrueType and OpenType fonts in the system
font path library after it looks for the printer resident version,
the specified font inline, and in the user path library.
|