Digitizing
The first stage of digitization of a typeface is to prepare the artwork by marking up. This involves putting tick marks around any curves at approximately 30 degree intervals along with extra tangent points where a curve blends onto a straight line. Some form of accurate graphics tablet is then used to input three types of points: curve points, corner points and tangent points. Any irregularities (e.g. lumps and flat spots) are then edited out by adjusting the position of the points on the computer. The human eye is extremely sensitive to spotting irregularities on smooth outlines and typical adjustments are of the order of tenths of millimetres on a character one hundred millimetres high. As the computer screen displays a rasterized image at relatively low resolution, high quality print outs (traditionally bromides) or cuts in film (Ulano) are used to proof the digitized shapes.
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