Monotype Imaging Licenses Chinese Font Solution to Sharp

Published 15th October 2008


iType Font Engine and SmarHint-Enabled Chinese Fonts Integrated within a Range of Handsets

WOBURN, Mass., Oct. 15, 2008 – Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: TYPE), a leading global provider of text imaging solutions, has announced that Sharp Corp. of Japan has licensed Monotype Imaging’s iType® font engine and a selection of Traditional and Simplified Chinese typefaces. The fonts have been optimized with Monotype Imaging’s patent-pending SmartHint™ technology for a range of mobile phones being deployed in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.

“Sharp turned to us for expertise in providing a Chinese font solution that would meet the company’s high standards for quality and flexibility,” said John Seguin, executive vice president of Monotype Imaging. “We worked closely with Sharp to tailor the solution, including the fine-tuning of individual Chinese characters to meet particular aesthetic requirements.”

iType font engine and SmartHint fonts
Monotype Imaging’s iType font engine enables manufacturers and developers of memory-constrained devices to build products that can efficiently generate text. The iType font engine supports Monotype Imaging’s stroke-based fonts, multilingual TrueType® fonts, custom typefaces, bitmaps, embedded bitmaps, font subsets and linked fonts.

Monotype Imaging’s patent-pending SmartHint method of character fine-tuning – or hinting – is designed to improve East Asian text display quality. “At smaller sizes, correct spatial relationships are preserved, while at larger sizes, characters are uniform and regular,” said Geoff Greve, vice president of font development at Monotype Imaging. “In some cases, secondary strokes are removed from characters without affecting the recognition of those characters. Letterforms remain clear and legible.”

About Monotype Imaging
Monotype Imaging is a global provider of text imaging solutions for manufacturers and developers of consumer electronics devices including laser printers, copiers, mobile phones, digital televisions, set-top boxes, digital cameras and software applications and operating systems. The company also provides printer drivers and color imaging technologies to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Monotype Imaging technologies are combined with access to more than 10,000 typefaces from the Monotype®, Linotype® and ITC® typeface libraries – home to some of the world’s most widely used designs, including the Times New Roman®, Helvetica®and ITC Franklin Gothic™ typefaces. Fonts are licensed to creative and business professionals through custom font design services, direct sales or e-commerce portals. Monotype Imaging offers fonts and industry-standard solutions that support all of the world’s major languages. The company is based in Woburn, Mass., with regional offices in the U.K., Germany (Linotype), Mt. Prospect, Ill., Redwood City, Calif., Boulder, Colo., Japan and China. Information about Monotype Imaging and its products can be found at www.monotypeimaging.com, www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.monotypefonts.com, www.itcfonts.com, www.customfonts.com, www.fontwise.com, www.fonts.hk and www.faces.co.uk.

Monotype and iType are trademarks of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. SmartHint is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Times New Roman is a trademark of The Monotype Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Linotype is a trademark of Linotype GmbH registered in the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Helvetica is a trademark of Linotype Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions in the name of Linotype Corp. or its licensee Linotype GmbH. ITC is a trademark of International Typeface Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. ITC Franklin Gothic is a trademark of International Typeface Corp. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. TrueType is a trademark of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. © 2008 Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.


Contact: Vikki Quick
Marketing and Public Relations, Worldwide
Monotype Imaging Inc.
500 Unicorn Park Drive
Woburn, MA 01801
781-970-6115
vikki.quick@monotypeimaging.com