Bitstream Inc.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital typeface design, Software |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Matthew Carter, Mike Parker, Cherie Cone, Rob Friedman |
| Defunct | 2012 (font division acquired) |
| Fate | Font division purchased by Monotype Imaging in March 2012; remaining segments rebranded as Pageflex, Inc. after management buyout in December 2013 |
| Headquarters | Marlborough , United States |
| Products | Digital typefaces, Font Fusion rasterizer, BOLT Browser, Bitstream International Character Set (BICS) |
Bitstream Inc. was a United States-based type foundry focused on digital typeface design, established in 1981 by former Mergenthaler Linotype Company staff members Matthew Carter, Mike Parker, Cherie Cone, and Rob Friedman. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Bitstream's font division, which included MyFonts, was purchased by Monotype Imaging in March 2012. The remaining segments of the company, such as Pageflex and the Bolt Browser, were separated into Marlborough Software Development Holdings Inc., which, following a management buyout in December 2013, was rebranded as Pageflex, Inc.
Products
Bitstream developed a collection of "classic" typefaces that were frequently retitled due to trademark considerations. Among these were Dutch 801 (a version of Times Ten), Gothic 725 (Akzidenz-Grotesk), News 706 (Aurora), Aldine 401 (Bembo), Humanist 777 (Frutiger), Zapf Calligraphic (Palatino), and Zurich (Univers). This font library achieved widespread distribution through its integration into CorelDRAW and other Corel software such as WordPerfect Office.
The company drew criticism for marketing digital versions of existing typefaces that it had not originally created. Although legally permissible, this approach was described by font designer John Hudson as "one of the worst instances of piracy in the history of type," largely due to the extensive quantities sold at reduced prices.
In addition to digitizing classic fonts, Bitstream produced original typefaces including Amerigo by Gerard Unger, Charter by Matthew Carter, Carmina by Gudrun Zapf, Chianti by Dennis Pasternak, Iowan Old Style by John Downer, Arrus by Richard Lipton, as well as the open-source Bitstream Vera family.
One of their prominent offerings is Swiss 721 BT, a Helvetica imitation featuring condensed and rounded variants. Created in 1982, it stands among the earliest digital Swiss-style typeface families.
Bitstream also engineered Font Fusion, a font rasterizer developed in partnership with Type Solutions, Inc., which Bitstream later acquired outright.
The company created a multi-byte character encoding known as the Bitstream International Character Set (BICS).
History
Bitstream was instrumental in the development of BeOS, with initial releases utilizing a Bitstream rendering engine and later 2001 builds incorporating Font Fusion technology. The operating system—including its freeware versions—came bundled with numerous Bitstream fonts such as their adaptations of Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Courier.
On December 2, 1998, Bitstream completed the acquisition of all outstanding shares of Type Solutions, Inc. Sampo Kaasila, founder and president of Type Solutions and inventor of TrueType, joined Bitstream as Director of Research and Development.
In January 1999, Bitstream launched MyFonts, an open marketplace hosting fonts from multiple foundries along with a community forum enabling users to engage with typographic professionals.
January 2009 saw the introduction of the BOLT Browser, a complimentary Java ME-based mobile web browser built upon Bitstream’s proprietary ThunderHawk technology aimed at mobile carriers and device manufacturers. This product was discontinued by late 2011.