Agfa Monotype Announces Closed Caption Compliancy for TV Fonts; iType Font Rendering Subsystem and TV Font Pack Meet FCC Rules for OEMs.

Business/Technology Editors

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LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2001

Agfa Monotype Corporation today announced that iType(TM), its font rendering subsystem for digital communication devices, now supports font requirements mandated by the Federal Communications Commission for closed captioning display on both analog and digital television systems. OEMs can now turn to Agfa Monotype to fulfill all requirements for font styles and font attributes.

"Support for closed captioning is an important step in iType's development to meet unique criteria for particular markets," said Doug Shaw, senior vice president of Agfa Monotype's OEM business unit. "Manufacturers can now work with us directly as a single source for fonts, without worrying about government compliance."

To comply with the latest requirements for closed captioning set forth by the Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA), iType now includes as part of its standard software package the ability to display text using any of five character edge effects: embossed (to support the specified "raised" effect), engraved ("depressed"), outline ("uniform"), drop shadow, as well as the native edges of a selected font.

In addition to the new features, Agfa Monotype has created a TV font pack that supports the FCC mandates for font styles as described in the table below. Agfa Monotype's fonts also conform to the FCC-required specifications for pen styles, character offsetting and pen sizes.

Closed captioning font requirements

              EIA-708 Specification    Agfa Monotype Solution
                                       (Meets EIA-708 Specification)

Fonts         1 monospaced font
               with serifs             Agfa Screen(TM)Serif Monospaced

              1 proportionally spaced
               font with serifs        Agfa Screen Serif

              1 monospaced font
               without serifs          Agfa Screen Sans Monospaced

              1 proportionally spaced
               font without serifs     Agfa Screen Sans

              1 casual font type       Ashley Script(TM)

              1 cursive font type      Coronet(TM)

              Small capitals           Sheffield(TM)

              Default (undefined)      Default (undefined)

Character Edge
 Effects      Raised                   Embossed

              Depressed                Engraved

              Uniform                  Outline

              Drop Shadow              Drop Shadow

              None                     Default


Pen Styles    Normal                   Normal

              Italic                   Italic

              Underline                Underline


Character
 Offsetting   Normal                   Normal

              Subscript                Subscript

              Superscript              Superscript


Pen Sizes     Standard                 Standard

              Large                    Large (scalable to size)

              Small                    Small (scalable to size)

About closed captioning

Closed captioning capabilities provide access to television programming to persons with hearing disabilities. The technology allows for the audio portion of programming to be displayed as text, super-imposed over the video portion. To display closed captions, viewers must use either a set-top decoder or a television receiver that contains integrated decoder technology.

Requirements for closed captioning have existed since the 1990 passage of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act. With the advent of digital broadcasting, the FCC has updated its rules with instructions for the encoding, display and delivery of closed captioning information for digital TV. Manufacturers are required to include compliant DTV closed captioning decoder circuitry in digital television devices by July 1, 2002. Devices affected by the rules include digital sets with wide-screen displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, digital TVs with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone digital TV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens.

About Agfa Monotype Corporation

Agfa Monotype Corporation is a major provider of digital content for graphics professionals. The company is a recognized leader in fonts and font technologies and an innovator in color and screening technologies. Agfa Monotype is a wholly owned subsidiary of Agfa Corporation and is part of Agfa's Graphic Systems business unit. Agfa Corporation is part of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, one of the world's leading imaging companies, headquartered in Mortsel, Belgium. Agfa develops, produces and markets analog and digital systems, primarily for the graphics, medical imaging, non-destructive testing and consumer imaging and photography markets. Worldwide, sales for 2000 were 5.26 billion euros. In the U.S., Agfa is headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J. and employs approximately 4,000 people. Additional information about Agfa Monotype and its products can be found on the company's Web sites at www.agfamonotype.com and www.fonts.com.

Agfa Monotype locations

Corporate office:
Agfa Monotype Corporation         Agfa Monotype Ltd.
200 Ballardvale Street            Unit 2, Perrywood Business Park
Wilmington, MA  01887-1069 USA    Salfords, Redhill, Surrey RH1 5DZ UK
Phone    [phone]             Phone    [phone]
Fax      [phone]             Fax      [phone]

Agfa Monotype Corporation         Agfa-Gevaert Japan, Ltd.
985 Busse Road                    8-1, Higashiyama 3-chome
Elk Grove Village, IL  60007 USA  Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0043 Japan
Phone    [phone]             Phone    [phone]
Fax      [phone]             Fax      [phone]

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