JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for developers

Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by sp332 on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @10:19AM (#22054902)

Serifs are easier to read the more pixels you have to work with. For a printed book at 3,000+ DPI, serifs are fine (though it's still possible to overdo them!). For a high-res monitor, microserifs like the ones Consolas uses can help if your text is not too small. This font was designed for small sizes, where anything except the cleanest lines will simply cause blurriness.

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by dagmx on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @10:38AM (#22055133)

Did you mean 300+ DPI? 3,000 seems higher than I imagine anyone could see or any printer could feasibly print at.

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by sp332 on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @10:50AM (#22055240)

This is based on a very old memory, so it might be wrong. Looks like imagesetters and platesetters can commonly do 2,400 DPI and 3,600 is not unheard of. Even a newspaper platesetter should be around 1,200 DPI.

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by mceachen on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @12:05PM (#22055932)

Can confirm that those high dpi numbers are real. (I paid for my last year in college rendering film for offset press on a 25'x6'x6' monster scitex film printer).

Although the plate or film is rendered at 1600/2400/3200/4800 dpi, the dot gain from the ink soaking into the paper tends to blur fine details. The printing software tried to account for the dot gain, but it was still there.

If you look at a 300dpi laser printer output vs 600dpi, most everyone can tell if they look. Higher resolutions may need a loupe to discern differences.

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by jeltz on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @10:52AM (#22055267)

I think 300 DPI is just what is used for raster images. I think the text is usually printed at 2400 DPI.

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by mceachen on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @12:12PM (#22056017)

FWIW, when printing film (which would then be used to expose plates, which would then be loaded on a standard web offset press), the dpi doesn't change when rendering film. Smaller dots allow for a finer-grained halftone pattern.

You'd choose different DPIs based on the paper the final print would go on, though (it took longer to print at higher DPIs: sometimes over an hour before the job got sent to the film printer). Newspaper has the worst dot gain, and got the lowest DPI. Coated stock had the best, and got higher DPI.

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by criddell on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @11:05AM (#22055384)

Are books really printed at 3000 DPI?

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Re:JetBrains Mono: A free and open-source typeface for devel... by mceachen on Wednesday January 15, 2020 @12:13PM (#22056027)

Yes. See my replies above.

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