Editing Bitstream Inc.

{{Short description|American type foundry (1981–2012)}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bitstream Inc.
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|BITS}}
| logo = Bitstream logo.svg
| foundation = {{start date and age|1981}}
| defunct = {{End date|2012|03|19}}
| location = [[Marlborough, Massachusetts]], United States
| fate = Acquired by [[Monotype Corporation|Monotype]]
| key_people = Amos Kaminski ([[chairman]] and Interim [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
| num_employees = 96<ref name=zenobank>{{cite web |url=http://www.zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=BITS&page=quotesearch |title=Company Profile for Bitstream Inc (BITS) |access-date=2008-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427202433/http://www.zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=BITS&page=quotesearch |archive-date=2009-04-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| industry = [[Type foundry]], [[mobile phone web browsers]]
| products = 
| website = 
}}

'''Bitstream Inc.''' was an American  [[type foundry]] that produced digital [[typeface]]s. It was founded in 1981 by [[Matthew Carter]], [[Mike Parker (typographer)|Mike Parker]], Cherie Cone, and Rob Friedman, all former employees of the [[Mergenthaler Linotype Company]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.printmag.com/designer-interviews/an-interview-with-matthew-carter/ |title=An Interview With Matthew Carter |access-date=2024-04-04 |date=2011-03-02 |work=Print }}</ref> It was located in [[Marlborough, Massachusetts]]. The font business, including [[MyFonts]], was acquired by [[Monotype Corporation|Monotype Imaging]] in March 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasdaq.com/article/monotype-closes-purchase-of-bitstreams-font-business-for-50-mln-lifts-fy-view-20120319-01557 |title=Monotype Closes Purchase Of Bitstream's Font Business For $50 Mln; Lifts FY View |access-date=2012-03-26 |date=2012-03-19 |work=Market Headlines web site |publisher=[[NASDAQ]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ir.monotypeimaging.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=658188 |title=Monotype Imaging Completes Acquisition of Bitstream's Font Business |access-date=2012-03-26 |date=2012-03-19 |work=press release |publisher=Monotype Imaging |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408120109/http://ir.monotypeimaging.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=658188 |archive-date=2012-04-08 }}</ref> The remainder of the business, responsible for Pageflex and [[Bolt (web browser)|Bolt Browser]], was spun off to a new entity named Marlborough Software Development Holdings Inc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.printweek.com/Business/article/1103796/monotype-acquires-bitstreams-font-business-50m-cash-deal/|title=Monotype acquires Bitstream's font business in $50m all cash deal|access-date=2012-03-26|date=2011-11-14|work=PrintWeek|publisher=Haymarket Business Media|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502114457/http://www.printweek.com/Business/article/1103796/monotype-acquires-bitstreams-font-business-50m-cash-deal/|archive-date=2012-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marlborough-software-development-holdings-inc-214100019.html|title=Marlborough Software Development Holdings Inc. to Commence Trading on Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board on March 19, 2012 Under the Symbol "MBGH."|access-date=2012-03-26|date=2012-03-16|work=press release|publisher=Bitstream, Inc.}}</ref> It was later renamed Pageflex, Inc following a successful [[management buyout]] in December 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Marlborough Software Development Holdings Inc. Acquired in Management-Led Buyout {{!}} Business Wire|url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131209005918/en/Marlborough-Software-Development-Holdings-Acquired-Management-Led-Buyout|website = www.businesswire.com|date = 9 December 2013|access-date = 2015-11-20}}</ref>

==Products==

Bitstream created a library of "classic" fonts (usually under different names for [[trademark]] reasons) in digital form. For example, [[Times New Roman|Times Ten]] was released as ''Dutch 801'', [[Akzidenz-Grotesk]] as ''Gothic 725'', [[Aurora (typeface)|Aurora]] is ''News 706'', [[Antique Olive]] as ''Incised 901'', [[Bembo]] as ''Aldine 401'', [[Berthold Block]] as ''Gothic 821'', Bodoni Campanile as ''Modern 735'', [[Choc (typeface)|Choc]] as ''Staccato 555'', Codex as ''Calligraphic 421'', [[Cochin (typeface)|Cochin]] is ''Engravers' Oldstyle 205'', [[Coronet (typeface)|Coronet]] is ''Ribbon 131'', [[Eurostile]] as ''Square 721'', [[Frutiger (typeface)|Frutiger]] as ''Humanist 777'', [[Gill Sans]] as ''Humanist 521'', [[Kabel (typeface)|Kabel]] as ''Geometric 231'', [[Memphis (typeface)|Memphis]] as ''GeoSlab 703'', [[Metro (typeface)|Metro]] as ''Geometric 415'', [[Mistral (typeface)|Mistral]] is ''Staccato 222'', [[Melior (typeface)|Melior]] is ''Zapf Elliptical'', [[Optima]] as ''Zapf Humanist'', [[Nebiolo Printech|Oscar]] as ''Formal 436'', [[Old English Text]] is ''Cloister Black'', [[Peignot (typeface)|Peignot]] as ''Exotic 350'', [[Perpetua (typeface)|Perpetua]] is ''Lapidary 333'', [[Plantin (typeface)|Plantin]] as ''Aldine 721'', Profil as ''Decorated 035'', [[Palatino]] as ''Zapf Calligraphic'', [[Rockwell (typeface)|Rockwell]] is ''Geometric Slabserif 712'', [[Syntax (typeface)|Syntax]] as ''Humanist 531'', [[Torino (typeface)|Torino]] as ''Industrial 736'' and [[Univers]] as ''Zurich''. The Bitstream font collection is most widely used through its inclusion with the [[CorelDRAW]] software, as well as other Corel products such as WordPerfect Office.

The company received extensive criticism for its strategy of cheaply offering digitisations of pre-existing typefaces that it had not designed. While technically not illegal, font designer John Hudson would describe its selling of large numbers of typefaces on CD at discount prices as "one of the worst instances of piracy in the history of type".<ref name="Bitstream Devroye">{{cite web|last1=Devroye|first1=Luc|author-link=Luc Devroye|title=Bitstream|url=http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-27538.html|website=Type Design Information Page|access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref>

Bitstream developed a number of fonts on its own, such as [[Bitstream Charter|Charter]], by Matthew Carter, [[Iowan Old Style]] by [[John Downer (signpainter)|John Downer]] and the [[freeware]] [[Bitstream Vera]] family of fonts.

One of their best known fonts is Swiss 721 BT, which is a [[Helvetica]] clone with condensed versions and a rounded version. It was among the first digitally available Swiss family typefaces, being designed for that purpose in 1982.

Another Bitstream product is [[Font Fusion]], a font [[rasterizing]] engine developed jointly with Type Solutions, Inc., which was later owned entirely by Bitstream.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://new.myfonts.com/foundry/Bitstream/ |title=Bitstream |access-date=2010-03-02 |date=2010-03-02 |work=Myfonts.com Web site |publisher=Bitstream, Inc. }}</ref>

The{{Which|date=July 2021|reason=No character set has been mentioned above, so this phrasing sounds very odd.}} multi-byte character set was named [[Bitstream International Character Set]] ([[BICS (character set)|BICS]]).

== History ==
The company had a high level of involvement in [[BeOS]], with older BeOS releases using a Bitstream renderer, and the latest development releases from 2001 using Font Fusion. The OS, including its freeware releases, included a large number of Bitstream fonts, including their clones of [[Times New Roman]], [[Helvetica]] and [[Courier (typeface)|Courier]].

On December 2, 1998, Bitstream Inc. announced acquisition of all outstanding stock of Type Solutions, Inc. In addition, Sampo Kaasila, its founder and president and the creator of [[TrueType]], agreed to join Bitstream's team as Director of Research and Development.

In March 2000, Bitstream launched [[MyFonts]], an open marketplace offering fonts from various foundries.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

In January 2009, Bitstream introduced the [[Bolt (web browser)|BOLT Browser]], a [[Java Platform, Micro Edition|Java ME]]-based [[Web browser]] for mobile phones. It was distributed free of charge to consumers and was built using the company's [[ThunderHawk]] mobile Web browsing technology for [[mobile network operator]]s and handset manufacturers. The product was discontinued by the end of 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boltbrowser.com/about.html|title=Bolt WebBrowser about page |access-date=1 February 2023 |date=2 February 2009 |work=the about page for the boltbrowser.com  |publisher=Bitstream, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202110806/http://boltbrowser.com/about.html |archive-date=2009-02-02 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bitstream Vera]]
* [[Bitstream Charter]]
* [[Bitstream Cyberbit]]
* [[MyFonts]]
* [[ThunderHawk]]
* [[Bolt (web browser)]]
* [[Corel]]
* [[TrueDoc]]
* [[Mike Parker (typographer)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Commercial type foundries]]
[[Category:Software companies based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Design companies established in 1981]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 1981]]
[[Category:1981 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Software companies disestablished in 2012]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq]]
[[Category:2012 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Defunct software companies of the United States]]