[GreenKeys] Teletype Corp archives, museum

Thu Jul 29 19:50:28 EDT 2004

Hi

If we are going to totally emulate the type produced by a teletype or a 
typewriter we would have to randomize the locations of each and every 
character on the page. One of the things that your eye picks up very 
quickly is the fact that the alignment of characters produced by a type 
setting machine is a lot more accurate than the alignment produced by 
other means.

I agree that this and other things make an exact duplication of the 
output of a model 28 a very difficult task. I have seen type setting 
programs that allow you to specify the kerning of an individual 
character but I don't even know the proper term for a vertical 
alignment variation (unless it also falls under the same heading). 
Randomizing a metric for which there is not even a technical descriptor 
might be a bit tough. .....

Just to make the entire task even more difficult ... is there any 
evidence that Teletype used only one font ?

One approach to digging up the information - Teletype font 
registrations may have been done through good old Western Electric (195 
Broadway, New York , New York). Same place I got my first UNIX license 
from, but that's another story ....

	Take Care!

		Bob Camp
		KB8TQ

On Jul 29, 2004, at 7:11 PM, Eric Scace K3NA wrote:

> Hi John and others --
>
>    I got quite a few direct messages of interest with similar 
> questions... so I'll summarize some of my thoughts on those points to
> the list here.  (Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any leads yet on 
> Teletype Corp documents!)
>
>    Unfortunately, it's rather complex to produce a typeface that has 
> the thin variations in color intensity associated with the
> fibers in a typewriter ribbon.  For most on-screen applications, those 
> details would be lost in the low pixel-density of the screen.
> For print applications, one could consider emulating a ribbon 
> appearance.  But that emulation might be more easily done by
> superimposing a screen over the image to modulate it, rather than 
> building it into the font.
>
>    The variations from the black intensity of a ribbon also fall apart 
> as soon as one starts to scale the font to any other size
> than that used on Teletype machines.  Does one scale up/down those 
> ribbon thread-level variations?  Or leave them at the original
> spacing of a real ribbon?  If the later approach were to be used, 
> every size would require a complete re-design of the face.
>
>    This hints as my answer to the one of the first questions of 
> typeface design:  Am I designing an exact replica of the print
> produced by a Model 28, or am I designed a modern font well-grounded 
> in a historical antecedent?  (The answer to this question also
> depends heavily on the intended applications for the family.)
>
>    If I wanted to just imitate what a Model 28 produced, that could be 
> done without a font at all -- just photograph an excellent
> example of a printout, and scissor up the images.  There would be no 
> point in having a digital typeface, since one would be
> restricted to only one size.
>
>    My chosen goal is a modern digital face that preserves key design 
> attributes of the original letterforms, but works both
> on-screen and on a page.  Doing a "good job" in identifying and 
> adhering to those original design attributes should result in glyphs
> that you would immediately recognize as "Model 28 characters" -- even 
> if the size is different on the printed page or on your
> computer screen... and even if the character is one that Teletype Corp 
> never produced for its typewheels or typeboxes.  Of course,
> if one chooses the correct size, one will be able to print out 
> something at the exact spacing and size of the original Teletype
> machines... but one will be able to enjoy other sizes on both screen 
> and paper.
>
>    Some variants fit within this scheme:
> -- Different faces were used for chad and chadless tape and for 
> printers.  Those could be different families (more work!).
> -- One variant may have only the uppercase letterforms, and typing a 
> lowercase key on a keyboard would invoke the uppercase
> letterform.  This makes life easy when one is operating computer-RTTY: 
> no need to lock the keyboard into uppercase.
> -- Another variant might use the original design principles to develop 
> lowercase glyphs.  Of course those lowercase glyphs didn't
> exist on Teletype machines.  But a well-designed mono-spaced typeface 
> that looks good on a screen, and includes lowercase and other
> glyphs, could quickly be adopted for displaying computer software code 
> or for other applications requiring a mono-spaced face.
>
>    I don't intend to undertake italic or bold faces for the family -- 
> that really seems outside the sense of the original design...
> and I don't see a high demand for italic, bold, or small caps in the 
> kinds of applications where one desires a mono-spaced font.
>
>    And, just to make things more time-consuming, there are no glyph 
> encodings defined in Unicode for meteorological glyphs used in
> "weather' typeboxes... nor do encodings exist for glyphs used by 
> reperforators for characters such as blank, figs, and letters.
> Fortunately, I happen to be a meteorologist in a past life, and have 
> the credentials and materials necessary to successfully apply
> to the Unicode Pooh-Bahs to get these glyphs added.
>
> 73,
> -- Eric
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of John Foust
> Sent: 2004 July 29 18:22
> To: eric at k3na.org; GreenKeys
> Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Teletype Corp archives, museum
>
>
> At 03:51 PM 7/29/2004, Eric Scace K3NA wrote:
>>  As some of you know, I am working (slowly) on the development of a 
>> digital typeface family that replicates character forms used
>> on Teletype equipment in the Model 28 series.
>>  Typography is a complex science as well as an artform.
>
> I've longed for such a font.  See my web page on the
> bastard step-child ASR-33 artwork from the computer side of RTTY:
>
> http://www.threedee.com/jcm/aaa/index.html
>
> Do you intend to reproduce the forms on the printhead (with
> clean lines) or do you artfully want to reproduce the real-world
> appearance of the letter forms as struck through an inked
> (and possibly worn) cloth ribbon on newsprint paper stock?
>
> - John
>
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