How can I create a soft font file (sfp)?

[CraigM3604]

I have been using a proprietary program (pcx2sfp) for years to create sfp files from a pcx image of a signature or logo.

However, this program is 16-bit only, and as such will not run under Windows 10 (64-bit).

I can get the image in many different formats, but I need a program to convert the image to sfp.

Does anyone know what software can be used for this purpose?

[dansdaduk]

I don't personally know of any package that will convert a .pcx image to a character data entry in a LaserJet .sfp bitmap font file - but that's not to say that there may not be (many) such applications available.

The MKPCL application (see http://spectracolorservices.com/) can convert .pcx images to PCL raster images, and embed them in PCL macros.

There are applications available (e.g. Font Creator - see http://www.high-logic.com/font-editor/fontcreator.html) to convert images to entries in a TrueType font.

... and the Soft Font Generate tool in the PCL Paraphernalia application (see http://www.pclparaphernalia.eu/) can then generate a .sft (PCL scalable TrueType) font from a donor Truetype font.

[CraigM3604]

Thank you for the reply.

The package using the file requires it be an .sfp file. The company that wrote the package wrote their own utility to convert pcx-to-sfp, but do not provide any updates to that conversion program. The company has in fact come out with a new package that eliminates the need for .sfp files and can now embed bmp or tiff files. We have much invested in the existing package so are not all that interested in converting to their newer package (with all the added expense).

So, the search continues.

[dansdaduk]

>> ... The package using the file requires it be an .sfp file ...

Is this because:

• The package actually reads and interprets the content of the .sfp file?
• Or is it just that it wants to send the content (unaltered) of a named file (historically / conventionally assumed to be a bitmap .sfp font file) direct to the printer, in order to make a soft font (containing the required signature/logo) available?

If the latter, then you could probably subsititute a .sft file (perhaps first renaming it with a .sfp extension to satisfy the package requirements).

Unless your printer is older than LaserJet 4, it should understand the .sft soft font format.

The only remaining complication then might be the PCL font selection sequence which the package includes in the print job in order to select the downloaded soft font.

If you can't change this sequence (i.e. it's hard-coded in the package), then we'd have to discover (perhaps by analysing a 'captured' print job) what this sequence is, then use this knoweldge to 'tailor' the font header in the generated .sft font.

[CraigM3604]

If I include a copy of the file, can you determine what the contents indicate?

[dansdaduk]

Send a copy of captured print file to the mailbox: support 'at' pclparaphernalia.eu

[dansdaduk]

Three files received:

• logo_apb.pcx - the source pcx image file
• LOGO_APB.SFP - the (soft font) logo file generated
• LOGO_APB.MAC - apparently the same contents for every logo file that is generated

LOGO_APB.SFP : analysis of content:

Offset: dec  Type                   Sequence          Description
-----------  ---------------------  ----------------  ----------------------------------------------------

0000000000   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>)s105W       Download Font Header (data length = 105)
0000000007   PCL Binary             [ 64 bytes ]      Font header descriptor
             Descriptor Size:                         64
             Header Format:                           0: PCL Bitmap
             Font Type:                               0: Bound; 7-bit (96 charset: 0x20-7f printable)
             First Code:                              0 (0x0)
             Last Code:                               0 (0x0)
             Symbol Set:            Kind1 value:      277 (0x115)
                  ---->             Identifier:       8U (Roman-8)
             Spacing:                                 0: Fixed-pitch
             Pitch:                                   1.875 characters per inch
             Height:                                  72.00 PCL (1/72 inch) points
             Style:                 Value:            0
                                    Structure:        0: Solid (Normal, Black)
                                    Width:            0: Normal
                                    Posture:          0: Upright
             Stroke Weight:                           0: Medium (Book or Text)
             Typeface:              Family Code:      658
                                    Vendor Code:      4: Monotype Corporation
                                    Identifier:       17042
             Font Name:                               LOGO_APB        
             Orientation:                             0: Portrait
             Serif Style:                             0: Sans Serif Square
             Width Type:                              0: Normal
             Quality:                                 0: Data Processing (Draft)
             Placement:                               0: Normal
             Cell Width:                              160 dots
             Text Width:                              160 quarter dots
                  ---->             Average Spacing:  7.5 characters per inch
             Cell Height:                             300 dots
             Text Height:                             300 quarter dots
                  ---->             Optimum Spacing:  4.0 lines per inch
             Cap Height:                              Default (70.87% of Em)
             Baseline:                                225 rows below top of cell
             Underline:             Thickness:        3 dots
0000000071   Font Copyright                           (c) 1997 by Bottomline Technologies, Inc.
0000000112   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>*c33E        Character Code (code-point = 33 (0x21))
0000000118   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>(s6016W      Download Character (data length = 6016)
0000000126   PCL Binary             [ 1922 bytes ]    
0000002048   PCL Binary             [ 2048 bytes ]    
0000004096   PCL Binary             [ 2046 bytes ]    
0000006142   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>*c34E        Character Code (code-point = 34 (0x22))
0000006148   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>(s5416W      Download Character (data length = 5416)
0000006156   PCL Binary             [ 2034 bytes ]    
0000008190   PCL Binary             [ 2048 bytes ]    
0000010238   PCL Binary             [ 1334 bytes ]  

This shows:

• It is a Format 0 (bitmap) soft font definition; note that this is now a deprecated format (in fact, since the advent of the Laserjet 4 printer) although it is still supported by most LaserJet printers.
• It is bound to symbol set 8U.
• It is a fixed-pitch font, with pitch = 1.875 characters-per-inch, and height = 72 point.
• It has typeface identifier 17042.
• Two characters are defined.
• The first character is associated with decimal code-point 33 (= hexadecimal 21); i.e. the ASCII character !
• The second character is associated with decimal code-point 34 (= hexadecimal 22); i.e. the ASCII character "

LOGO_APB.MAC : analysis of content:

Offset: dec  Type                   Sequence          Description
-----------  ---------------------  ----------------  ----------------------------------------------------

0000000000   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>&f32002y     Macro Control ID (identifer = 32002)
0000000009                                 0X         Macro Control: Start Macro Definition
0000000011   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>*p+0x        Cursor Position Horizontal (+0 PCL units)
0000000017                                 p          Palette Stack: Push (Store)
0000000018                                 +0Y        Cursor Position Vertical   (+0 PCL units)
0000000021   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>(8U          Primary Font: Symbol Set (8U = Roman-8)
0000000025   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>(s0p         Primary Font: Spacing: Fixed
0000000030                                 1.87h      Primary Font: Pitch (1.87 characters per inch)
0000000035                                 72.00v     Primary Font: Height (72.00 points)
0000000041                                 0s         Primary Font: Style (Upright, solid)
0000000043                                 0b         Primary Font: Stroke Weight: Medium
0000000045                                 17042T     Primary Font: Typeface (identifier = 17042)
0000000051   Data                                     !"
0000000053   PCL Parameterised      <Esc>&f1x         Macro Control: Stop Macro Definition
0000000058                                 10X        Macro Control: Make Macro Permanent

This shows:

• Definition of a PCL macro, with macro identifier 32002
• It appears to contain a syntax error, in that the 'p' shown as representing a Palette Stack Push command is almost certainly (> 99.9999999999999%) erroneous.
• It issues a font selection sequence (which matches the characterisics of the .SFP soft font above), and prints the two characters associated with the two characters !" from that font - these are presumably your logo or signature.

So what the package probably does is to copy the content of these two files to the printer (probably just after any print job initialisation sequences), then issues a PCL seqeunce to call (or execute) macro 32002 wherever it wants to print your logo / signature.

So substituting a format 15 PCL Encapsulated TrueType Outline font definiiton instead of the format 0 one will almost certainly work, provided that the font header in this PCLETTO font is set up with the same selection characteristics.

[dansdaduk]

Printing the characters from that font:

• First the character pair !"
• Then just the first character !
• Then just the second character "

[CraigM3604]

Using your information as a base, I examined a signature file. It appears to contain the characters represented by hexadecimal values 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25:

Dec 33 Hex 21 Length 6576

Dec 34 Hex 22 Length 6576

Dec 35 Hex 23 Length 6576

Dec 36 Hex 24 Length 6576

Dec 37 Hex 25 Length 4608

The signature file contains a single signature, but perhaps it needs to be broken up into several "characters" due to some limitation in the format 0 of the soft font definition? It appears that 6576 bytes is some kind of upper limit.

The point being that it appears that the software package using these mac and sfp files are simply copying PCL data to the printer (we have had a combination of LaserJet 5, LaserJet 8000N, LaserJet 8150 and LaserJet 9050 printers over time).

Knowing that, how would I go about constructing something I can use to replace these sfp files?

[dansdaduk]

>> ...  how would I go about constructing something I can use to replace these sfp files?

As I mentioned in my initial post, you'd have to create suitable TrueType fonts containing your logo(s) and signature(s).

You'd have to make sure that the fonts you created were fixed-pitch, rather than proportionally-spaced, to match the existing setup.

It may be the case (I can't remember what size limitations there may be, off-hand) that the whole logo or signature could be associated with just one character code, and the other character codes could then just be set to null glyph shapes.

I've used Font Creator in the past for this purpose (although not for some years now); it was relatively easy to use, but not free.

Then convert the TrueType font(s) to the equivalent PCLETTO .sft downloadable soft font(s).

I use (because I designed and wrote it) the Soft Font Generate tool in the PCL Paraphernalia application for this purpose; the dialogue allows the required symbol set and typeface identifiers to be set in the font header.