Alternative math fonts for .pdf file [was: Previous mail]

[Christina Thiele]

Alberto de la Fuente writes:
>
> Many days ago I sent you this simply question..
>
>
> I am thinking of buying some or your fonts for LaTeX typesetting.
> Before doing so, just to make sure of the right product, I am attaching
> a file in which you may find some text and formulae I use to write.
> On page 4 and beyond you will find some mixture of normal and math text.
>
> The problem is that math fonts appear very poor comparing with the rest
> of the text.
> Do you think using your Lucida Bright and Lucida New Math fonts would
> improve that appearance? Are those the most suitable for this type of
> work?
> Regards.
> --------------------
> Jose-Luis de la Fuente
>
> Should I expect an answer this time?
>
>
>
> Regards
>
> ...


Hello, Jose-Luis. I'm afraid this is the first time I see your message
on the techsupport list -- perhaps the other didn't make it?

Or perhaps you sent the previous query to support at yandy.com -- as
you've noticed, techsupport at yandy.com is now where technical support
is provided. And it's also now a forum, rather than a one-on-one type
of support set-up. Anyways, I'm cc'ing you directly on this, but the
reply is going back to `techsupport'. If you haven't already
subscribed, then please go to www.yandy.com and under `Support',
you'll find the necessary instructions. And please join us -- we're an
ever-growing group of Y&YTeX users who provide one another with
assistance and ... well ... support, when we need help.

There are a good number of people already here who are taking their
TeX source files and making PDF files of them. So I'm sure they'll be
more than happy to comment on what they've found works nicely.

I took a look at your .pdf file (a smaller sample file would have been
just as good -- and taken up a lot less space ;-)) and it seems to me
you have a relatively heavy text font in that sans serif, so the math
is looking very spindly in comparison.

So, a better balance of `colour' on the page would either see you
using a lighter font for text, or getting a darker math font. Or, as
you yourself suggest, using the Lucida family for both text and math,
which ought to yield exactly the balance you want.

Now, I don't actually type math ;-) But I do know there are a few
other fairly decent combinations of text/math you may want to
consider.

One would be to use the Concrete fonts for text, which then work well
with Computer Modern for math. And you get everything you need for
math, without having to change anything.

If your text font were Times, on the other hand, you might want to
consider using the MathTime fonts (available from Y&Y).

Other sources of information include:

1. Thierry Bouche, `Diversity in Math Fonts'. _TUGboat_ 19,2
   (1998), pp.121-135.

2. Alan Hoenig, `Alternatives to Computer Modern
   Mathematics'. _TUGboat_ 19,2 (1998), pp.176-187.

3. Alan Hoenig, `MathKit: Alternatives to Computer Modern
   Mathematics'. _TUGboat_ 20,3 (1999), pp.282-289.

4. Chap.10 (`New Math Fonts') of Alan Hoenig's _TeX Unbound_.
   Oxford University Press, 1998.

TUGboat issues can be read on-line by following the `TUGboat' links at
www.tug.org.

The Thierry Bouche article originally appeared in the French-language
_Cahiers GUTenberg_, which are also on-line. Follow the links to other
user groups, and go to `GUTenberg', then _Cahiers GUTenberg_ -- look
for issue no. 25, pp.1-24. I like the article (either version) not
just 'coz I translated it into English ;-) but also because he gave
many examples of text/math combinations, and discusses what factors
weigh in the decision on making a pleasing selection. One of them is
in fact Lucida (p.5 in the French original; p.123 in the TUGboat
English version).

Best of luck on your final choices.

Ch.