NAVIGATION2

Tip of the Month
For October 2000
We're now providing a new monthly feature, Tips and Tricks, for you to get more out of your fonts and dingbats.

This Month,
Using Alternate Characters



Many of the P22 fonts include not only full international character sets but also alternate characters to allow for occasional substitutions. A few examples below demonstrate cases where alternates are desirable.
 
The John Cage font presents alternates of each letter in the upper and lower case positions. These allow for a more natural hand-lettered look — especially when several letters repeat themselves.

The Cézanne font offers alternates for some of the more decorative characters (such as the t and the d). When t's are used more than once in a word, the appearance of the word gets cluttered and the t's overlap with other tall ascender letters. Using alternates makes the simulated handwriting look more pleasing and natural.

The Arts and Crafts font has built-in ligatures and alternates that allow for very decorative Mission-style lettering. It takes a little time to find the best combination, but the effect can be excellent.

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