Are there vintage or historical bitmapped fonts available for non-commercial use?












1














I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.



Current incarnations might be available for large LED displays, but those may work best for point LEDs rather than square filled pixels, and ideally these would be something recognizable by some as having historical aspects.



Should be available in a range of sizes.



The application is a small 128x64 pixel OLED display. I currently use Python's PIL which has a "default" font that is just too small for this display. I can also use it to read TrueType fonts, then I down-convert to gray scale then use a threshold to get 1-bit, but it looks ragged. See here and here but here I'm not asking for Chinese characters; even the original ASCII would be helpful.





Example of a 1-bit binary OLED display (128x64 pixels) cropped from this image from the AdaFruit Page Monochrome 0.96" 128x64 OLED graphic display, Product ID: 326.



enter image description here





These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks black-and-white isn't. Trying to post-process these back to binary by thresholding can lead to rough edges and strange looking characters.



enter image description hereenter image description here










share|improve this question


















  • 1




    Reminds me of the HD44780 LCD font which I found here: fonts2u.com/hd44780-regular.font
    – LawrenceC
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC yes that's definitely the right idea, thanks, but 7 pixels tall is too short for me. It's probably very similar to the "default" font that PIL has already. I'm using thresholded TTFs because I can specify a fontsize first.
    – uhoh
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC but you did get me thinking that I could just over-sample a 7-pixel tall font and display at 14 pixels, thanks x2!
    – uhoh
    53 mins ago
















1














I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.



Current incarnations might be available for large LED displays, but those may work best for point LEDs rather than square filled pixels, and ideally these would be something recognizable by some as having historical aspects.



Should be available in a range of sizes.



The application is a small 128x64 pixel OLED display. I currently use Python's PIL which has a "default" font that is just too small for this display. I can also use it to read TrueType fonts, then I down-convert to gray scale then use a threshold to get 1-bit, but it looks ragged. See here and here but here I'm not asking for Chinese characters; even the original ASCII would be helpful.





Example of a 1-bit binary OLED display (128x64 pixels) cropped from this image from the AdaFruit Page Monochrome 0.96" 128x64 OLED graphic display, Product ID: 326.



enter image description here





These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks black-and-white isn't. Trying to post-process these back to binary by thresholding can lead to rough edges and strange looking characters.



enter image description hereenter image description here










share|improve this question


















  • 1




    Reminds me of the HD44780 LCD font which I found here: fonts2u.com/hd44780-regular.font
    – LawrenceC
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC yes that's definitely the right idea, thanks, but 7 pixels tall is too short for me. It's probably very similar to the "default" font that PIL has already. I'm using thresholded TTFs because I can specify a fontsize first.
    – uhoh
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC but you did get me thinking that I could just over-sample a 7-pixel tall font and display at 14 pixels, thanks x2!
    – uhoh
    53 mins ago














1












1








1







I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.



Current incarnations might be available for large LED displays, but those may work best for point LEDs rather than square filled pixels, and ideally these would be something recognizable by some as having historical aspects.



Should be available in a range of sizes.



The application is a small 128x64 pixel OLED display. I currently use Python's PIL which has a "default" font that is just too small for this display. I can also use it to read TrueType fonts, then I down-convert to gray scale then use a threshold to get 1-bit, but it looks ragged. See here and here but here I'm not asking for Chinese characters; even the original ASCII would be helpful.





Example of a 1-bit binary OLED display (128x64 pixels) cropped from this image from the AdaFruit Page Monochrome 0.96" 128x64 OLED graphic display, Product ID: 326.



enter image description here





These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks black-and-white isn't. Trying to post-process these back to binary by thresholding can lead to rough edges and strange looking characters.



enter image description hereenter image description here










share|improve this question













I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.



Current incarnations might be available for large LED displays, but those may work best for point LEDs rather than square filled pixels, and ideally these would be something recognizable by some as having historical aspects.



Should be available in a range of sizes.



The application is a small 128x64 pixel OLED display. I currently use Python's PIL which has a "default" font that is just too small for this display. I can also use it to read TrueType fonts, then I down-convert to gray scale then use a threshold to get 1-bit, but it looks ragged. See here and here but here I'm not asking for Chinese characters; even the original ASCII would be helpful.





Example of a 1-bit binary OLED display (128x64 pixels) cropped from this image from the AdaFruit Page Monochrome 0.96" 128x64 OLED graphic display, Product ID: 326.



enter image description here





These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks black-and-white isn't. Trying to post-process these back to binary by thresholding can lead to rough edges and strange looking characters.



enter image description hereenter image description here







font






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 1 hour ago









uhoh

305311




305311








  • 1




    Reminds me of the HD44780 LCD font which I found here: fonts2u.com/hd44780-regular.font
    – LawrenceC
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC yes that's definitely the right idea, thanks, but 7 pixels tall is too short for me. It's probably very similar to the "default" font that PIL has already. I'm using thresholded TTFs because I can specify a fontsize first.
    – uhoh
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC but you did get me thinking that I could just over-sample a 7-pixel tall font and display at 14 pixels, thanks x2!
    – uhoh
    53 mins ago














  • 1




    Reminds me of the HD44780 LCD font which I found here: fonts2u.com/hd44780-regular.font
    – LawrenceC
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC yes that's definitely the right idea, thanks, but 7 pixels tall is too short for me. It's probably very similar to the "default" font that PIL has already. I'm using thresholded TTFs because I can specify a fontsize first.
    – uhoh
    1 hour ago










  • @LawrenceC but you did get me thinking that I could just over-sample a 7-pixel tall font and display at 14 pixels, thanks x2!
    – uhoh
    53 mins ago








1




1




Reminds me of the HD44780 LCD font which I found here: fonts2u.com/hd44780-regular.font
– LawrenceC
1 hour ago




Reminds me of the HD44780 LCD font which I found here: fonts2u.com/hd44780-regular.font
– LawrenceC
1 hour ago












@LawrenceC yes that's definitely the right idea, thanks, but 7 pixels tall is too short for me. It's probably very similar to the "default" font that PIL has already. I'm using thresholded TTFs because I can specify a fontsize first.
– uhoh
1 hour ago




@LawrenceC yes that's definitely the right idea, thanks, but 7 pixels tall is too short for me. It's probably very similar to the "default" font that PIL has already. I'm using thresholded TTFs because I can specify a fontsize first.
– uhoh
1 hour ago












@LawrenceC but you did get me thinking that I could just over-sample a 7-pixel tall font and display at 14 pixels, thanks x2!
– uhoh
53 mins ago




@LawrenceC but you did get me thinking that I could just over-sample a 7-pixel tall font and display at 14 pixels, thanks x2!
– uhoh
53 mins ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















1















Are there vintage or historical bitmapped fonts available for non-commercial use?



I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white
bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.




Typefaces are not subject to copyright, at least in the US, so you can do what you want (again, in the US). Bitmapped representations are typefaces.



This is in contrast to "fonts" (such as TrueType), which are considered software that render typefaces.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces discusses the different aspects in different countries.




These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or
even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks
black-and-white isn't.




These could be artifacts of you underlying display technology, especially for fonts, particularly today with modern high resolution screens. If you happened to have an actual bitmap of pixels in B&W that Just So Happen to look like letters, you would not necessarily be seeing those artifacts. Depends on how the graphics are actually rendered by the underlying software.






share|improve this answer





















  • Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
    – uhoh
    51 mins ago





















1














Try THE OLDSCHOOL PC FONT RESOURCE



Looks positively awesome to me. I started by looking for IBM MDA - the classic 9x14 font, and I found this site.



License is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.



I've downloaded the file. Zip contains all the fonts ready to install in Windows. You should be able to convert it to whatever you need, including actual bitmaps - I've done that in the past, though not lately.



This includes dozens of fonts - IBM CGA/EGA/MDA/VGA, ATI, Tandy, Phoenix, etc.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
    – uhoh
    38 mins ago











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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









1















Are there vintage or historical bitmapped fonts available for non-commercial use?



I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white
bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.




Typefaces are not subject to copyright, at least in the US, so you can do what you want (again, in the US). Bitmapped representations are typefaces.



This is in contrast to "fonts" (such as TrueType), which are considered software that render typefaces.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces discusses the different aspects in different countries.




These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or
even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks
black-and-white isn't.




These could be artifacts of you underlying display technology, especially for fonts, particularly today with modern high resolution screens. If you happened to have an actual bitmap of pixels in B&W that Just So Happen to look like letters, you would not necessarily be seeing those artifacts. Depends on how the graphics are actually rendered by the underlying software.






share|improve this answer





















  • Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
    – uhoh
    51 mins ago


















1















Are there vintage or historical bitmapped fonts available for non-commercial use?



I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white
bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.




Typefaces are not subject to copyright, at least in the US, so you can do what you want (again, in the US). Bitmapped representations are typefaces.



This is in contrast to "fonts" (such as TrueType), which are considered software that render typefaces.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces discusses the different aspects in different countries.




These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or
even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks
black-and-white isn't.




These could be artifacts of you underlying display technology, especially for fonts, particularly today with modern high resolution screens. If you happened to have an actual bitmap of pixels in B&W that Just So Happen to look like letters, you would not necessarily be seeing those artifacts. Depends on how the graphics are actually rendered by the underlying software.






share|improve this answer





















  • Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
    – uhoh
    51 mins ago
















1












1








1







Are there vintage or historical bitmapped fonts available for non-commercial use?



I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white
bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.




Typefaces are not subject to copyright, at least in the US, so you can do what you want (again, in the US). Bitmapped representations are typefaces.



This is in contrast to "fonts" (such as TrueType), which are considered software that render typefaces.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces discusses the different aspects in different countries.




These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or
even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks
black-and-white isn't.




These could be artifacts of you underlying display technology, especially for fonts, particularly today with modern high resolution screens. If you happened to have an actual bitmap of pixels in B&W that Just So Happen to look like letters, you would not necessarily be seeing those artifacts. Depends on how the graphics are actually rendered by the underlying software.






share|improve this answer













Are there vintage or historical bitmapped fonts available for non-commercial use?



I'm looking for a source for one or a few 1-bit black-or-white
bitmapped fonts used in the past, available in a set of sizes.




Typefaces are not subject to copyright, at least in the US, so you can do what you want (again, in the US). Bitmapped representations are typefaces.



This is in contrast to "fonts" (such as TrueType), which are considered software that render typefaces.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces discusses the different aspects in different countries.




These days even black-and-white fonts are displayed using grayscale or
even color. Zoomed screenshots from my laptop showing that what looks
black-and-white isn't.




These could be artifacts of you underlying display technology, especially for fonts, particularly today with modern high resolution screens. If you happened to have an actual bitmap of pixels in B&W that Just So Happen to look like letters, you would not necessarily be seeing those artifacts. Depends on how the graphics are actually rendered by the underlying software.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 54 mins ago









Will Hartung

3,543720




3,543720












  • Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
    – uhoh
    51 mins ago




















  • Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
    – uhoh
    51 mins ago


















Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
– uhoh
51 mins ago






Thanks, thats a helpful clarification. I'm looking for something that may be used without geographic limitation, so I can't assume within the US but I can research further. fyi I've just asked elsewhere Why does some text on my laptop have gray-scale pixels and some have color pixels?
– uhoh
51 mins ago













1














Try THE OLDSCHOOL PC FONT RESOURCE



Looks positively awesome to me. I started by looking for IBM MDA - the classic 9x14 font, and I found this site.



License is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.



I've downloaded the file. Zip contains all the fonts ready to install in Windows. You should be able to convert it to whatever you need, including actual bitmaps - I've done that in the past, though not lately.



This includes dozens of fonts - IBM CGA/EGA/MDA/VGA, ATI, Tandy, Phoenix, etc.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
    – uhoh
    38 mins ago
















1














Try THE OLDSCHOOL PC FONT RESOURCE



Looks positively awesome to me. I started by looking for IBM MDA - the classic 9x14 font, and I found this site.



License is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.



I've downloaded the file. Zip contains all the fonts ready to install in Windows. You should be able to convert it to whatever you need, including actual bitmaps - I've done that in the past, though not lately.



This includes dozens of fonts - IBM CGA/EGA/MDA/VGA, ATI, Tandy, Phoenix, etc.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
    – uhoh
    38 mins ago














1












1








1






Try THE OLDSCHOOL PC FONT RESOURCE



Looks positively awesome to me. I started by looking for IBM MDA - the classic 9x14 font, and I found this site.



License is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.



I've downloaded the file. Zip contains all the fonts ready to install in Windows. You should be able to convert it to whatever you need, including actual bitmaps - I've done that in the past, though not lately.



This includes dozens of fonts - IBM CGA/EGA/MDA/VGA, ATI, Tandy, Phoenix, etc.






share|improve this answer














Try THE OLDSCHOOL PC FONT RESOURCE



Looks positively awesome to me. I started by looking for IBM MDA - the classic 9x14 font, and I found this site.



License is Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.



I've downloaded the file. Zip contains all the fonts ready to install in Windows. You should be able to convert it to whatever you need, including actual bitmaps - I've done that in the past, though not lately.



This includes dozens of fonts - IBM CGA/EGA/MDA/VGA, ATI, Tandy, Phoenix, etc.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 37 mins ago

























answered 40 mins ago









manassehkatz

1,646216




1,646216








  • 1




    Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
    – uhoh
    38 mins ago














  • 1




    Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
    – uhoh
    38 mins ago








1




1




Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
– uhoh
38 mins ago




Wow that looks really intriguing, and so ends my productivity for the rest of the day...
– uhoh
38 mins ago


















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