[Scribus] Font isue

[Nigel Ridley]

jwminer at accessvt.com wrote:
> Nigel wrote:
>> Where can I get a [free] copy of helvetica that will work with
>> Scribus?
>> I'm running Kubuntu edgy.
>> Is verdana just as good?
> 
> Helvetica is a trademarked font owned by Linotype. You can't legally
> download Helvetica for free anywhere. You have to buy it from
> Linotype or a dealer legally selling it. Helvetica is built into all
> PostScript printers. It used to be available only as a PostScript
> Type 1 font, but I see that Linotype now has a TrueType version and
> there are OpenType versions for many individual members of the
> Helvetica family.
> 
> Due to US law that doesn't allow a font's design to be copyrighted,
> there are numerous clones and knockoffs of Helvetica. Some are good
> quality, many are not. A legal clone is produced by printing the
> font's characters at a large size, scanning them, and tracing with a
> program such as Fontographer. Hints and kerning would have to be
> added; they cannot legally be copied from the font that was scanned
> because they are considered part of the computer *program*, not the
> font design, and thus are subject to copyright. If a cloner would
> bother at all with hinting and kerning, it would probably be done
> automatically and thus the quality would not be as good as what
> you'd get with careful manual hinting and kerning.
> 
> Many of the Helvetica-inspired fonts like Arial differ in details,
> subtle and not subtle, from Helvetica, and thus are not clones. Most
> readers would never notice. Remember that most readers can barely
> distinguish a serif font from a sans serif--if that.
> 
> Type mavens generally avoid Helvetica--and Arial and Times Roman or
> Times New Roman--because they are so overused. However, some
> well-known logos use Helvetica, and if a company's style sheet
> demands it, you have no choice.
> 
> Arial uses the same metrics as Helvetica, so substituting Arial for
> Helvetica should not result in page reflows. That depends to some
> extent on the output device, however. With clones and knockoffs, all
> bets are off.
> 
> Verdana is quite different from Helvetica. It was designed by
> Matthew Carter specifically for screen display and is open and
> spacious in appearance. It is available only in TrueType. For
> printed text, you usually want something less spacious and open,
> though most readers probably wouldn't notice. Verdana is owned by
> Microsoft and is included with Windows and other Microsoft software.
> At one time Microsoft offered Verdana for free download but no
> longer does. It seems it can still be freely offered under the terms
> of the original license. It is, however, a proprietary font.
> --Judy Miner
>   USA
> 
> Registered Linux User #397786
> 
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> 
> 

Thank you for the insight.

Since I am new to this whole area of print publishing, rather than web publishing, 
which [free] fonts work well on paper? - I mean normal/standard ones.

Blessings,

Nigel

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