[XeTeX] Lettrines in XeTeX

[Will Robertson]

On 02/07/2006, at 2:26 , Stephen Moye wrote:

> Well, there is one problem if you want more than, say, a 2-line drop
> cap, and you are using Computer Modern, and possibly other fonts for
> all I know. Apparently there is a limit of just how far LaTeX will
> allow you to scale CM.

Yes, back in the bitmap days (!!) you couldn't arbitrarily scale  
fonts like we do today, and by default Computer Modern is set up to  
only scale to certain canonical sizes (10pt scaled by approximate  
powers of 1.2, if I recall correctly). The logic being that the  
different sizes weren't just linear re-sizings, but actual variations  
along an optical axis that thinned and heightened the fonts as the  
nominal font size increased.

So anyway, if you're using XeTeX, you certainly don't want to be  
using the default CM fonts. Any other font in LaTeX (either  
postscript TFM-based or fontspec) will work fine for lettrine.

All the best,

Will