Re: [ft] Hinting problem

[Werner LEMBERG]

> I'm using FreeType to render text in the OS/2 version of Firefox 3

Aah, since a long time we haven't had any reports of OS/2 users.

> The main problem seems to be that the 'e' in the "Times New Roman"
> font shipping with OS/2 (Type 1 format) displays almost like a 'c'
> at some font sizes. An example can be seen
> here:
>    https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=320335
> I'm now basically wondering, if there is anything I can do about
> this.

This is a very good question.  First of all, which FreeType version is
used on OS/2?  Is it directly part of Firefox?

> I have now reproduced this using
>    ftstring -m eComStation 16 TNR.PFB
> on Linux (toggling hinting using the 'h' key shows the problem
> nicely).  How do I find out if the font is broken?

The very problem is that Type 1 hinting of FreeType is, hmm, not
optimal.  In many cases, the autohinter produces better results.

Can you send me this font privately for further investigation?


    Werner