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Windows-Compatible Core Set

Monotype Imaging has designed a set of fonts that are metrically compatible with the Arial®, Courier and Times New Roman® typefaces that are core to the Microsoft® Windows® operating system. Monotype Imaging’s versatile Windows-Compatible Core Set, particularly suited for non-Windows platforms that work with documents created on Windows platforms, ensures that documents will reflow properly on-screen and in print when switching between systems.

Metric Compatibility
The Windows-Compatible Core Set is part of our ESQ® (Enhanced Screen Quality) line of TrueType® fonts that have been optimized for viewing type legibly at any resolutions. The Albany, Thorndale and Cumberland typeface families all contain the regular, italic, bold and bold italic styles.

An added twist to metric compatibility, however, is included in the Arial, Courier and Times New Roman fonts that ship with Microsoft Windows. These fonts have TrueType code that allows them to scale non-linearly. In order for a font to be truly compatible to these designs, they must share this non-linear attribute.

What is Non-Linear Scaling?
Non-linear scaling means that a font’s natural (linear) tendency to round to the nearest pixel is overridden. For example, the letter A (below) which is 1366 font units wide, naturally rounds to 7 pixels wide at 11ppem. If a designer were to disapprove of the resulting shape or width of the letter on the 7-pixel advance width, the designer can change the rounding to either 6 or 8 pixels using a TrueType Delta command. So in the case of Arial at 11ppem, the A was given, a non-linear advance width.

Why Non-Linear Scaling is Used
Non-linear scaling was chosen as a method by Microsoft engineers to achieve better quality for screen fonts. Our designers then implemented this technique in an effort to produce the highest-quality readable fonts for the Windows environment.

The letter A in this example can now be both symmetrical (an odd number of pixels allows for mirrored symmetry), and have an even number of pixels of white space between it and the surrounding letters. Another example is the following letter I. There are literally thousands of cases, over a wide range of sizes, where the Microsoft Windows core fonts are made to round non-linearly.

Why Non-Linear Scaling is Significant
The practice of non-linearly scaling fonts is ideal for making individual sizes look better. However, problems arise when a user is counting on true WYSIWYG results. In the above example, the change is only affecting that specific size and resolution. The change has not affected the equivalent size for a higher-resolution laser printer. In some cases, this discrepancy can cause different line breaks to occur, resulting in non-WYSIWYG output.

Why Choose the Albany, Cumberland and Thorndale typefaces? In addition to complete metric compatibility with the Microsoft Windows core fonts, Monotype Imaging’s Windows-Compatible Core Set was designed with low-resolution displays in mind. Letter shapes were designed to render more legibly at low resolutions than the Microsoft Windows core fonts, and the TrueType hinting code for optimizing specific sizes is truly advanced. With increased legibility, more efficient code and complete metric compatibility, the Monotype Imaging’s Windows-Compatible Core Set is the result of our commitment to providing the best font and font technology solutions to a wide range of markets.

Albany (left) was designed with more open shapes while maintaining the same metrics as Arial.	Thorndale (left) was designed slightly larger and more open while maintaining the same metrics as Times New Roman.	Cumberland (left) was designed with the same metrics as Courier New; however, Cumberland is taller and slightly heavier.

Contact us to learn more about integrating Monotype Imaging’s Windows-Compatible Core Font Set into your solution.