{"guid":"0da638a9-bac7-5d0b-a4ea-4c633a23fa1b","title":"Let's All Go Back To Bitmap Fonts!","subtitle":null,"slug":"lgm25-upstream-2025-83649-let-s-all-go-back-to-bitmap-fonts-","link":"https://pretalx.c3voc.de/lgm25-upstream-2025/talk/4042669152/","description":"Scalable vector fonts have been the norm for decades, but that doesn't\nmean artists and hackers don't have use cases where a bitmap font fits\nthe bill (and it doesn't mean that classic bitmap font designs deserve\nto be forgotten, either).\n\nThis session explores two distinct scenarios where bitmap fonts have a\nrole to play and looks at the tooling needed to convert or repackage older\nbitmap formats for convenient usage in modern free-software applications.\n\nThe first scenario is enabling vintage computing aesthetics in graphic design:\nthere are several paths available to transform bitmap fonts into forms usable\nin Inkscape, GIMP, and other open-source design tools.\n\nThe second scenario is getting text onto inexpensive LCD, LED, and OLED\ndisplay hardware. Most such display hardware allows the runtime loading or\nflashing of bitmap characters, but pitfalls abound.\n\nOptions and recommendations for both scenarios will be examined, with demos\ndrawn from vintage arcade fonts and the classic Xorg/X11 font suite. To\nconclude, the talk will outline the licensing issues likely to arise when\ndealing with bitmap font packages that so often predate contemporary\nfree-software licenses.\n\nLicensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","original_language":"eng","persons":["Nathan Willis"],"tags":["83649","2025","lgm2025","main","lgm2025-eng","Day 1"],"view_count":218,"promoted":false,"date":"2025-05-28T16:20:00.000+02:00","release_date":"2025-05-28T00:00:00.000+02:00","updated_at":"2026-03-07T18:00:07.353+01:00","length":1312,"duration":1312,"thumb_url":"https://static.media.ccc.de/media/events/lgm/2025/83649-0da638a9-bac7-5d0b-a4ea-4c633a23fa1b.jpg","poster_url":"https://static.media.ccc.de/media/events/lgm/2025/83649-0da638a9-bac7-5d0b-a4ea-4c633a23fa1b_preview.jpg","timeline_url":"https://static.media.ccc.de/media/events/lgm/2025/83649-0da638a9-bac7-5d0b-a4ea-4c633a23fa1b.timeline.jpg","thumbnails_url":"https://static.media.ccc.de/media/events/lgm/2025/83649-0da638a9-bac7-5d0b-a4ea-4c633a23fa1b.thumbnails.vtt","frontend_link":"https://media.ccc.de/v/lgm25-upstream-2025-83649-let-s-all-go-back-to-bitmap-fonts-","url":"https://api.media.ccc.de/public/events/0da638a9-bac7-5d0b-a4ea-4c633a23fa1b","conference_title":"Libre Graphics Meeting 2025 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