50-cent vs $50 typefaces: how will the arrival of low-priced font collections affect the quality and cost of the fonts you buy?

Article Abstract:

The market for computer fonts expanded far beyond graphics professionals to millions of microcomputer users. It is driven in by the Microsoft/Apple alliance that developed and incorporated TrueType into their respective Windows and System 7 environments and the emergence of low-cost TrueType font collections led by Microsoft's TrueType Font Pack for Windows. Adobe Systems countered by giving away its Type 1 PostScript format and bundling Adobe Type Manager with numerous third-party products. Unfortunately, type foundries still seem to view the market as consisting of TrueType products for the office and home users and PostScript for professionals. Consequently, most PostScript fonts are still generally more expensive than TrueType fonts, though there are low-cost PostScript font collections. Neither font architecture is viewed as particularly better than the other, but there can occur printing problems when both fonts are used in a single document, thus suggesting that only one font format should be used at a time.

author: Gable, Gene
Marketing, Standard, Standardization, Market Analysis, Competition, Manufacturers, Marketing Strategy, Pricing Policy, Scalable Fonts, PostScript, PostScript (Software)

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Inside report

Article Abstract:

SyQuest's latest offering, the EZFlyer-230, is an attempt to recapture the removable cartridge drive market that it lost to Iomega's Zip drive. EZFlyer's 230MB cartridge and 13.5-ms access time provide a competitive edge to SyQuest. However, the success of SyQuest's attempt to stage a comeback will depend upon how much marketing muscle and resources it employs to promote its new product. SyQuest, which pioneered the removable storage system, had earlier attempted to stage a come back by matching its EZ-135 against Iomega's Zip drive, but lost money. It is now prepared to meet the challenge after major shake-ups in the company and the appointment of a new executive team. Competition from CD-ROM recorders is another factor that may affect SyQuest, Iomega and the removable storage industry. A study by Publish shows that 45% of electronic publishing professionals are considering the purchase of CD-ROM recorders.

author: Gable, Gene
Computer storage devices, Computer peripherals industry, Market share, Removable-media drive, Removable media drives, Company market share, SyQuest Technology Inc., SYQT, SyQuest Technology EZFlyer 230 (Removable-media drive)

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Use a font, go to jail; suppliers turn to legal crackdowns in their war on font piracy

Article Abstract:

New enforcements of font piracy laws could lead to fines of $100,000, money for informants and jail sentences for willful copyright infringers, although so far no company has been prosecuted. The Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI) has instituted a legal crackdown and an educational program. ATypI's Font Software Anti-Piracy Initiative, announced in May 1992, is an anti-piracy initiative that includes an educational campaign, a statement on piracy and a stringent policy against font pirates. In Feb 1992 the government's Copyright Office announced that applications that have font information will have all the copyright protection that other programs have. Companies are emerging that seek out pirated software. The implementation of personal type libraries may help the situation, however, since if users build their own fonts, they will not copy pre-made ones.

author: Gable, Gene
Laws, regulations and rules, Copyrights, Patents, Software piracy, Patent/Copyright Issue, Legal Issues, Font Package

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subjects list: Computer fonts
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