AFP bitmap fonts
Terrapin has been supplying bitmap fonts (also known as 'raster' fonts) in IBM AFP format for 15 years. AFP is the world-renowned printing architecture from IBM and is the recognised choice of many companies for processing high speed documents in a production environment

In the past, bitmap fonts for IBM AFP printers were supplied in either 'bounded-box' or 'unbounded-box' formats. While we still have the technology to supply the unbounded-box format, for the most part these printers have now been replaced and only the bounded-box format is being used. However we do still have the ability to convert from the legacy bounded-box format (or 3800-3 format) to any other format.

IBM AFP bitmap fonts are supplied in either 240 or 300 dpi resolution, and the font resolution should match the resolution of the printer for maximum print quality

AFP bitmap fonts are supplied with the following files:

C0 - Character Set - contains the character bitmaps and metric information
T1 - Code Page - Maps each character to a unique EBCDIC Hexadecimal position
X0 - Coded Font - Links a character set and a code page to form a font

AFP outline fonts
As technology has advanced, IBM AFP printers now also have the ability to utilise outline font technology, and therefore Terrapin now also supplies AFP fonts in outline format. AFP outline fonts are essentially Adobe Type 1 PostScript fonts with an AFP 'wrapper'.

AFP outline fonts are supplied with the following files:

CZ - Character Set - Contains the character outlines and metrics information
T1 - Code Page - Maps each character to a unique EBCDIC Hexadecimal position
XZ - Coded Font - Links a character set and a code page to form a font

The most common code pages that we use when supplying AFP fonts are T1V10285 (UK Standard Code Page) or T1V10500 (Latin 1 International Code Page). The main difference between these two code pages is the position of the pound sign (£). In T1V10285 the pound sign is in position '5B' and in T1V10500 it is in position 'B1'. When ordering fonts from us, where pre-existing data is being used, you may wish to check your data to determine which position has been used for the pound sign before ordering the fonts.

We can supply AFP fonts to reference any code page required - simply tell us which name or which country code page you wish to use, and we will map the fonts accordinlgy.

Other AFP font services
Terrapin also provides an unrivalled font and licensing service for AFP users. Collectively we have over 30 years experience in this area, so we can guide you through the main areas of font licensing, character mapping, conversion from 240 to 300 dpi, and creating equivalent fonts for online viewing and distributed printing. We can supply virtually any typeface - as long as it can be obtained commercially, we can supply it in AFP format.

It is not only typographic fonts that we provide, but a wide range of industry standard barcode fonts, and signature and logo fonts so that your printer will not have any throughput problems when printing high memory graphic files.

In addition, we can convert AFP bitmap fonts to outline format, so if you need a TrueType equivalent for online viewing, we can create these resources.