TrueType and OpenType fonts

There is extensive operating system support for TrueType fonts, and they are popular with PC applications. Consequentially, TrueType is probably the most prevalent font technology in the industry today. The OpenType font format is an extension of the TrueType font format that allows better support for international character sets and provides broader multi-platform support. The OpenType format allows both TrueType or Adobe Type 1 outline fonts to be packaged as a TrueType font. OpenType fully supports Unicode. Advanced Function Presentation™ data stream (AFPDS) accepts Unicode UTF-8 or UTF-16.

You can only print TrueType and OpenType fonts if both your printer driver, such as Print Services Facility™ (PSF), and your printer support the fonts. You can use a code page with TrueType and OpenType fonts, but it is not required.

Note:

Any TrueType font that is to be used with Advanced Function Presentation (AFP™) must be Unicode-enabled. This means that the font must have these characteristics:

It must contain a Microsoft® Unicode subtable identified by platform ID = 3 (Microsoft) and platform-specific encoding ID = 1 (Unicode, UTF-16).
It must specify a full font name (Name ID 4) using the same encoding in the naming table.

When you install a TrueType font with the Font Installer for AFP Systems, it creates a resource access table. This table has a hard-coded name and is used to find fonts on your system. The Font Installer for AFP Systems is a feature of the IBM® Infoprint® Fonts for Multiplatforms licensed program

Related concepts

AFP fonts

Related tasks

Obtain AFP resources

Specify a TrueType or OpenType font

Related reference

Purchase fonts