Calling all typographers

[Rod Smallwood]

On 29/04/2016 13:39, steven at malikoff.com wrote:
> schoedel at kw.igs.net wrote
>> On Thu, 28 Apr 2016 13:19:43 +0100, Rod Smallwood wrote
>>> But they built it out of circles and straight lines and that's what I do.
>> That's superficially, but not exactly, true. Even the 'o' is not a perfect
>> circle, and you can't get close to replicating the 's' or the digits that way.
>>
>> I took a stab at replicating the 'classic dec' font about a decade ago, following
>> scanned DEC manuals wherever possible. I built up most of the basic ASCII set in
>> the outline form before suspending the project. (I suspect the solid form can
>> mostly be derived from paths through the middle of the outline strokes.) It did
>> get used a few years ago by our Jason T for some VCF Midwest graphics -
>> https://picasaweb.google.com/102190732096693814506/VCFMW50OfficialGraphics#551251
>> 2730455260610
> I've also had a go at the dec font for the purpose of those 'good enough' mastheads I
> posted about here last year:
> http://www.vcfed.org/forum/entry.php?544-A-good-enough-replica-of-the-digital-PDP11-masthead-for-the-H960-rack
>
> I too found the font to be mostly circles and tengential lines except for the 's' which
> gave me a lot of trouble to draw nicely in my CAD program. I'm puzzled about the notion
> of 'o' not being a perfect circle as I found it to be quite so, at least on the masthead.
> As mentioned there are different 't's. I treat the whole masthead as an integral CAD drawing -
> I'm not trying to replicate Paul's near-enough Corel-drawn font (which I examined) but
> rather a correctly spaced and kerned piece of text, just as it is on the masthead.
>
> I've made some test cuts in paper and vinyl on my CNC stencil cutter for both a positive
> (stick-on decal) and negative (for silkscreening) and the results are fairly promising, but
> I put it aside a while ago so I just need to find some time to get back into it.
>
> Steve.
>
Hi Steve
              Well I'm right in the middle of trying to figure out font 
forge. Its a camel (a horse designed by a committee)
I just about managed  to alter and save one character.

The H960 top title panel like yours is on my list but a ways off as I 
have to make and first ship the rest of the pdp-8 range and all of the 
PDP-11/XX systems that had key and lamp front panels.

I have a top class local silk screen studio who are keen to do this kind 
of high grade work . All manual and requiring great skill.
  I took one look and said you do it! The lady who runs the business and 
does my work  it said it only took five years on top of an arts degree 
to get this far.
She also said they could not do the artwork because they could not 
draw.  So I don't print and they don't draw and all is calm.

They are working by eye down to sub-millimeter levels using very fine 
very taut screens registering up to ten layers with drying time.
They use huge heavy cast vacuum tables about 10 feet square and three 
feet deep.  There's a sort of an X-Y contraption on top to move the  
screens about.
I just sit there and watch one or two twenty-five year old female rear 
ends stuck up in the air.
One day a muffled voice from the depths of one table said you can come 
over here and look you will see better.  I said no that's fine I can see 
quite well from here.
One of the other girls was drinking a cup of coffee and observed this. 
She spluttered and coffee went everywhere. Give here her due she just 
said sorry I sneezed!

On top of that they are all registered colourists. They can look at a 
colour and write down the correct code to get the (expensive) ink made up.

Another batch due for delivery on Tuesday (Bank Holiday on Monday here)

Regards Rod




Me I'm colour blind but all layer


So once I have the positive masters (black = ink) on to very expensive 
HP clear film using a HP Dj120 24inch plotter
  I just hand  them plus  .svg file from inkscape with all of the layers 
(up to ten) registered