[lucida] Scaling the Lucida font
R Martinez
rm.tech at mac.com
Thu May 5 21:59:00 CEST 2022
Bruno,
Thanks for providing all this information. The LaTeX Companion (2nd Ed) is a reference I consult frequently. But I have to admit that I just skimmed the NFSS section. I’ll go back to it.
I ran some tests of scale-factor/font-size specifications and thought you and others may be interested in the results, which I summarize below. I typeset a variety of text and math expressions (mostly math) and printed the output to avoid possible screen-induced effects. Then I evaluated the appearance of the printed output.
I used the AMSART document class and toggled between 10pt and 12pt font-size option and Scale=.92 and 1.0. Here are the results:
1. 10pt, \defaultfontfeatures{Scale=.92}: The printed output looks too small.
2. 10pt, \defaultfontfeatures{Scale=1.0}: The printed output is noticeably larger and more readable.
3. 12pt, \defaultfontfeatures{Scale=.92}: The printed output looks just right and easy to read.
4. 12pt, \defaultfontfeatures{Scale=1.0}: The printed output looks good and is very easy to read but is too big.
So, in my estimation, 12pt/scale=0.92 is the sweet point.
I’ll continue delving into font technicalities. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Best wishes,
Raúl
> On May 4, 2022, at 11:40 AM, Bruno Voisin <bvoisin at icloud.com> wrote:
>
>> On 4 May 2022, at 16:23, Raúl Martínez <rm.tech at mac.com> wrote:
>>
>> But there’s an issue still open that I thought about after posting my query. The issue is that the document class specifies the font size, either as an option or by default. It’s not clear to me how font scaling plays with the font-size specification by the document class.
>
> The basic idea is actually quite simple:
>
> - On one hand there is the document class (.cls or .clo), which defines the standard font sizes such as \normalsize, \small, \large, etc. This is where the [10pt], [11pt] and [12pt] options come into play. This is not related to any specific font, and there is no scaling involved.
>
> - On the other hand there are the font definition files (.fd), which associate these standard sizes with specific fonts in specific sizes, scaled or not.
>
> The implementation, however, is all but simple.
>
> Let's assume you write say (from lucida-sample.tex):
>
> \documentclass[11pt]{article}
> \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
> \usepackage{textcomp}
> \usepackage[altbullet]{lucidabr}
>
> First comes the "class" part.
>
> The [11pt] option calls
>
> /usr/local/texlive/2022/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/size11.clo
>
> which says
>
> \renewcommand\normalsize{%
> \@setfontsize\normalsize\@xipt{13.6}%
> [...]
> \DeclareRobustCommand\small{%
> \@setfontsize\small\@xpt\@xiipt
> [...]
> \DeclareRobustCommand\footnotesize{%
> \@setfontsize\footnotesize\@ixpt{11}%
> [...]
> \DeclareRobustCommand\scriptsize{\@setfontsize\scriptsize\@viiipt{9.5}}
> \DeclareRobustCommand\tiny{\@setfontsize\tiny\@vipt\@viipt}
> \DeclareRobustCommand\large{\@setfontsize\large\@xiipt{14}}
> \DeclareRobustCommand\Large{\@setfontsize\Large\@xivpt{18}}
> \DeclareRobustCommand\LARGE{\@setfontsize\LARGE\@xviipt{22}}
> \DeclareRobustCommand\huge{\@setfontsize\huge\@xxpt{25}}
> \DeclareRobustCommand\Huge{\@setfontsize\Huge\@xxvpt{30}}
>
> Given
>
> /usr/local/texlive/2022/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/latex.ltx
>
> has defined
>
> \def\@vpt{5}
> \def\@vipt{6}
> \def\@viipt{7}
> \def\@viiipt{8}
> \def\@ixpt{9}
> \def\@xpt{10}
> \def\@xipt{10.95}
> \def\@xiipt{12}
> \def\@xivpt{14.4}
> \def\@xviipt{17.28}
> \def\@xxpt{20.74}
> \def\@xxvpt{24.88}
>
> this means
>
> \normalize font size 10.95 pt line spacing 13.6 pt
> \small font size 10 pt line spacing 12 pt
> \footnotesize font size 9 pt line spacing 11 pt
> \scriptize font size 8 pt line spacing 9.5 pt
> \tiny font size 6 pt line spacing 7 pt
> \large font size 12 pt line spacing 14 pt
> \Large font size 14.4 pt line spacing 18 pt
> \LARGE font size 17.28 pt line spacing 22 pt
> \huge font size 20.74 pt line spacing 25 pt
> \Huge font size 24.88 pt line spacing 30 pt
>
> (the odd non-entire font sizes come from the early days of TeX, when fonts were bitmaps and sizes above 10 pt were created in advance at 1.2-multiples of 10: 10 * sqrt(1.2), 1.2, 1.2^2, 1.2^3, etc.).
>
> Now comes the really tricky part: the "font" stuff.
>
> Given \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} makes T1 encoding the default, and given
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/tex/latex/lucidabr/lucidabr.sty
>
> says
>
> \renewcommand{\rmdefault}{hlh}
>
> this calls
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/tex/latex/lucida/t1hlh.fd
>
> which says
>
> \DeclareLucidaFontShape{T1}{hlh}{m}{n}{ hlhr8t }{}
>
> The default in lucidabr.sty is [lucidascale], namely
>
> \DeclareOption{lucidascale}{%
> \def\DeclareLucidaFontShape#1#2#3#4#5#6{%
> \DeclareFontShape{#1}{#2}{#3}{#4}{%
> <-5.5>s*[1.04]#5%
> <5.5-6.5>s*[1.02]#5%
> <6.5-7.5>s*[.99]#5%
> <7.5-8.5>s*[.97]#5%
> <8.5-9.5>s*[.96]#5%
> <9.5-10.5>s*[.95]#5%
> <10.5-11.5>s*[.94]#5%
> <11.5-13>s*[.93]#5%
> <13-15.5>s*[.92]#5%
> <15.5-18.5>s*[.91]#5%
> <18.5-22.5>s*[.9]#5%
> <22.5->s*[.89]#5%
> }{#6}}}
>
> Accordingly the above means
>
> for font sizes below 5.5, use the font metrics hlhr8t.tfm scaled by 1.04
> for font sizes between 5.5 and 6.5, use the font metrics hlhr8t.tfm scaled by 1.02
> etc.
>
> And finally the even trickier part:
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/fonts/tfm/bh/lucida/hlhb8t.tfm
>
> is a virtual font metrics, which
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/fonts/vf/bh/lucida/hlhr8t.vf
>
> defines in terms of the actual metrics
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/fonts/tfm/bh/lucida/hlhr8r.tfm
>
> Then
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/fonts/map/dvips/lucida/lucida.map
>
> writes
>
> hlhr8r LucidaBright " TeXBase1Encoding ReEncodeFont " <8r.enc <lbr.pfb
>
> telling that the metrics hlhr8r.tfm (i) corresponds to the Type 1 file
>
> /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/fonts/type1/bh/lucida/lbr.pfb
>
> containing the PostScript font named LucidaBright, and (ii) reencodes it to the TeXBase1Encoding defined in
>
> /usr/local/texlive/2022/texmf-dist/fonts/enc/dvips/base/8r.enc
>
> Such is the joy of Type 1 fonts in classical (La)TeX!
>
> Fortunately there are now OpenType fonts and XeTeX and LuaTeX, which together with the immensely convenient and powerful fontspec and unicode-math packages make things much much much easier.
>
> The above is much better explained in the LaTeX Companion, by Frank Mittelbach and others. Frank, together with Rainer Schöpf, introduced the above font selection design, originally known as NFSS (New Font Selection Scheme), in 1989. This led to the replacement of the original version of LaTeX, 2.09, by LaTeX 2ε in 1994.
>
> The LaTeX Companion is currently in its second edition, which is an invaluable resource for all things LaTeX. See
>
> https://www.latex-project.org/help/books/
>
> Franck has been working for some time on a 3rd edition, which is scheduled for release next year. Don't believe the sites that allow pre-order already or give a release date, like
>
> https://www.lehmanns.de/shop/mathematik-informatik/38861146-9780134658940-the-latex-companion-3e
> https://www.pearson.com/store/p/latex-companion-the-tools-and-techniques-for-computing-typesetting/P100000261198/9780134658940
>
> The second link, in particular, announces a release on May 5th, 2023, but that shouldn't be trusted. See
>
> https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/612573/the-latex-companion-3rd-edition
>
> Bruno
>
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