Prepress
Chinese version of Hiragino font developed
Wednesday 19. November 2008 - First Japanese font manufacturer to receive approval from the Chinese government for a high-end font
The Media and Precision Technology Company (President: Kyohei Fujisawa) of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kyoto, Japan) has recently developed a Chinese version of the Hiragino font that conforms to GB18030-2000, the national character set standard of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the first high-end font offered by a Japanese manufacturer that has received approval from the Chinese government.
In recent years, the demand for electronic devices and products in China has been increasing. At the same time, urban and youth populations have begun to clamor for high added value products with superior specs and design. For this reason, various manufacturers in Japan, Europe, the United States and elsewhere are working urgently to develop and expand their brand and product recognition in China.
The newly developed Chinese version of the Hiragino font consists of two San Serif type fonts (regular and bold). Its strength lies in a trendy and cool design feel, and good match with western San Serif families, unlike the classic styled typefaces often seen with existing Chinese fonts. As a display font used in electronic devices such as mobile phones, household electronics and other software products for the Chinese market, the Chinese version of the Hiragino font will contribute significantly to improving overall product design and brand image, as well as adding value to the products in which it is used. It was developed in collaboration with JIYUKOBO Ltd., which is known as the designer of the Japanese version of the Hiragino font, and Beijing Hanyi Keyin Information Technology Co., Ltd., the top font vendor in the Chinese printing market. The Chinese version of the Hiragino font includes 28,522 characters, as required by the Chinese national standard.
The quality of the Hiragino font has been proven worldwide by the remarkable record of the Japanese version of the font. It won a 2005 Good Design Award in Japan, and has been adopted for use in Mac computers and other major electronic devices. The Chinese version of the Hiragino font is extremely high in quality, thanks to a development process that involved an integrated design concept and a strong focus on quality. The font set is already complete and will be loaded into various devices and software as requests are received from customers.
Screen will continue to offer high-quality digital font series for applications in addition to printing, such as electronic devices, intelligent home electronics or networked software products, reflecting the current lifestyle utilizing digital content and cross-media networks.
* The Chinese version of the Hiragino font will be introduced at Embedded Technology 2008, the worlds largest trade show and conference for embedded system designers and managers, which will take place November 19 through 21, 2008 at Pacifico Yokohama in Japan.
* Retail package or download products are still under consideration.
* Hiragino is a registered trademark of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. Mac is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.