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LGM 2025 - Let's All Go Back To Bitmap Fonts!
Scalable vector fonts have been the norm for decades, but that doesn't
mean artists and hackers don't have use cases where a bitmap font fits
the bill (and it doesn't mean that classic bitmap font designs deserve
to be forgotten, either).
This session explores two distinct scenarios where bitmap fonts have a
role to play and looks at the tooling needed to convert or repackage older
bitmap formats for convenient usage in modern free-software applications.
The first scenario is enabling vintage computing aesthetics in graphic design:
there are several paths available to transform bitmap fonts into forms usable
in Inkscape, GIMP, and other open-source design tools.
The second scenario is getting text onto inexpensive LCD, LED, and OLED
display hardware. Most such display hardware allows the runtime loading or
flashing of bitmap characters, but pitfalls abound.
Options and recommendations for both scenarios will be examined, with demos
drawn from vintage arcade fonts and the classic Xorg/X11 font suite. To
conclude, the talk will outline the licensing issues likely to arise when
dealing with bitmap font packages that so often predate contemporary
free-software licenses.
Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
View all episodes
Scalable vector fonts have been the norm for decades, but that doesn't
mean artists and hackers don't have use cases where a bitmap font fits
the bill (and it doesn't mean that classic bitmap font designs deserve
to be forgotten, either).
This session explores two distinct scenarios where bitmap fonts have a
role to play and looks at the tooling needed to convert or repackage older
bitmap formats for convenient usage in modern free-software applications.
The first scenario is enabling vintage computing aesthetics in graphic design:
there are several paths available to transform bitmap fonts into forms usable
in Inkscape, GIMP, and other open-source design tools.
The second scenario is getting text onto inexpensive LCD, LED, and OLED
display hardware. Most such display hardware allows the runtime loading or
flashing of bitmap characters, but pitfalls abound.
Options and recommendations for both scenarios will be examined, with demos
drawn from vintage arcade fonts and the classic Xorg/X11 font suite. To
conclude, the talk will outline the licensing issues likely to arise when
dealing with bitmap font packages that so often predate contemporary
free-software licenses.
Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/