(Click here for larger image of typeface samples)According to Ascender, many consumer devices that need to display Asian characters -- such as cell phones, PDAs, and set-top boxes -- use bitmap fonts that are limited to one size and style per font file. In small footprint devices, this severely limits the font sizes and styles that can be accommodated.
Simplified Chinese rendered at different sizesACAF uses proprietary techniques to render the complex ideographs found in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) scripts. By using component outlines rather than entire character outlines, ACAF offers "significant" benefits over standard TrueType or OpenType font formats, the company says. No embedded bitmaps are necessary for typical screen sizes.
Ascender lists the following features and benefits of ACAF:
- "Dramatically reduced" font file sizes (over 85 percent savings)
- Able to display fonts at any size from a single master font file
- Wide variety of typefaces and font styles
- Quality tunable for different screen resolutions and characteristics
- A variety of special effects available from a basic font
- Lower costs for integration and support across multiple platforms
ACAF is part of the Ascender Font System, described as a platform to compose, layout, and render fonts on a variety of devices and systems. It implements a modular approach based on industry-standard APIs, according to the company.
ACAF currently supports Windows CE, Linux, Symbian, Nucleus, and VxWorks. It is available to "qualified developers" by contacting the company.
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