1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a blend of automatic and interactive pixel-level control of incipient text-moirexe2x80x2 in a developing page of computerized print by pixel-level virtual typesetting, with reconfiguring of text inter-word spacing, character widths and inter-character spacing within a word, to reposition inter-word white space in text for minimized moirexe2x80x2-effects such as vertical and diagonal channels, mazes and glyphs. The invention more particularly relates to operator-selected automatic intra-character width manipulation and intra-word space relocation to achieve a pleasing overall page effect by minimizing text-moirexe2x80x2 effects.
2. Description of Related Art
A paragraph of printed text appears in gross as a block of gray made up of lines of black characters with a number of spots of white space, and a rather subliminal raster of horizontal white bars between the lines of black. The reader is accustomed to these inter-line horizontal white bars, and indeed is comforted by them as he scans down the page of mostly-black lines of print, separated from other black lines of print by the horizontal white bars. The reader""s comfort level is diminished by the interruptions of occasional vertical or diagonal straight or vermiform white channels and white moirexe2x80x2-glyph patterns, which are usually referred to as moirexe2x80x2-effects or text-moirexe2x80x2. Moirexe2x80x2 patterns in textiles, especially silk, are watery or wavelike patterns which may be quite pleasing to the eye, creating a shimmering effect in clothing as the wearer moves. Text-moirexe2x80x2, however, is a different matter. Text-moirexe2x80x2 tends to diminish the ability to read fast and comprehend well a block of text having text-moirexe2x80x2 patterns. Text-moirexe2x80x2 is somewhat disconcerting to most readers, and can be quite disconcerting for some readers. It slows the reader by giving the reader""s eyes an excuse for distraction, and by such distractions may break the rhythm of multi-line scanning, line-by-line scanning or word-by-word scanning of a block of printed text.
A related development, by the inventor, was published in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin (TDB) during the 1980""s. The TDB publication manipulated inter-word spaces by monitoring each line with the previous line and repositioning some of the inter-word white spaces. The result was to randomize vertical moirexe2x80x2-effects. There was no pixel manipulation within individual characters and little intervention by the typesetter.
Character width in most printing has several standard modes, as follows:
SCS Standard Character Spacexe2x80x94All characters are the same width, as in the standard typewriter. Inter-word spacing is usually the same as a character width.
PCS Proportional Character Spacexe2x80x94Each character has its own width, with the xe2x80x9cIxe2x80x9d less wide than the xe2x80x9cM.xe2x80x9d Inter-word spacing is usually the same as a wide character.
The typesetting operation has evolved, from hand-setting of hand-carved individual character types, through various hot-metal modes such as Linotype, to the current computerized virtual typesettingxe2x80x94pixel-to-page. In computerized virtual typesetting, the computer simulates the type-carving and type-setting by developing individual characters at the pixel level from white and black spots. Each pixel is a spot which may be white or black, and may either be close to its neighboring pixels or overlap its neighboring pixels so that the character looks as a continuously black foreground on a white background. The colors, of course, do not need to be white and black, but may be any of a great variety of available selection. The computer can thus offer a variety of typefonts in a variety of sizes. Computerized virtual typesetting can provide a full page of text, giving the typesetter prompts as to spelling, punctuation and grammar. Justified right and left margins are available. Boldface, italics and underlining are commonly available, as are certain widow, orphan and lonely line prevention aids.
Assuming, for discussion, lines of 60 character spaces averaging 10 pixel-widths each, four consecutive lines may be found to have moirexe2x80x2-channels as follows: