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Edge Technology

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Edge Brochure (PDF)
iType Font Engine
iType Brochure (PDF)
iType Innovations
iType Connects
Stroke-based Fonts
WorldType Layout Engine
Font Technology Demo
ESQ Mobile Fonts
SmartHint Fonts

High-quality text on consumer electronics devices presents inherent challenges. Low-resolution screens and requirements for text at small sizes hinder legibility and display quality. Memory constraints limit the file sizes of fonts that can be embedded in devices. These challenges are heightened when displaying text in languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean, which are based on writing systems containing thousands of characters. To support such robust character sets, font file sizes have typically been large, placing an extreme burden on available memory. Additionally, East Asian languages contain characters that are intricately shaped, which are difficult to display at small sizes.

Edge Technology

To deal with these constraints, OEMs traditionally have had to enter tradeoffs between style, file size and quality. For example, a manufacturer may have chosen a simple typeface design to save memory, or accepted a larger font file size in order to assure legibility at small sizes. Today, Edge™ Technology gives manufacturers maximum flexibility to overcome these constraints while minimizing tradeoffs. As an optional plug-in for the iType® font engine, Edge Technology provides high-quality text rendering and supports all languages, with additional features catered to the unique requirements of East Asian writing systems. No longer must OEMs have to sacrifice a large degree of typographic style to conserve memory.

Edge Technology encompasses font “hinting” techniques – methods for fine-tuning characters – that serve to achieve superior visual results using scalable fonts in a low-memory footprint.

Edge-enhanced fonts are available based on Monotype Imaging’s CATT™ (Compact Asian Technology for TrueType®) format. Tuned for grayscale output, Edge-enabled fonts are engineered to preserve style and legibility at small to large text sizes. Font files are substantially smaller than standard TrueType fonts.

The Edge Technology software development kit ships with the following TrueType Edge fonts:

Edge Technology enables Monotype Imaging to extend the selection of optimized non-East Asian fonts more rapidly than previously possible. With the technology performing optimization work during run time, the time to produce and deliver fonts optimized for the consumer electronic environment has now been shortened significantly.

Edge Technology also provides a mechanism for tuning the appearance of the grayscale output. The rendered image can be tuned to appear lighter, darker, sharper or softer. This capability can be used to adjust the output across products which may use different displays. It can also be used to make small sized text look sharp, while larger size text retains a softer look.

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