[reportlab-users] Font size, baseline and typography stuff

[Andy Robinson]

I recall that somewhere in the PDF spec, it says that the font metrics
are figures provided by the designer of the font and may or may not
coincide with the extreme points actually stroked when drawing the
character.   In fact the font designer might actually want a little
more or less space around specific glyphs and can achieve this by
manipulating the metrics.

(As a corollary, all complaints about any particular font need to be
directed to the author of the font in question  ;-)    )

Robin's technique of actually converting the text to a series of
curves and asking for the boundaries is about as good as we will ever
be able to get in ReportLab-land, and hopefully it is feasible for
titles and 'word art'. It's certainly better than trusting the metrics
supplied with the font.

- Andy