True type fonts post script fonts
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TrueType Fonts
TrueType fonts are scalable to any point size and the screen font matches the print font exactly. They are the most convenient to use as they are scalable and their screen version matches the print exactly.
TrueType fonts depict a typeface but do not specify a size. This is the reason why they are not distorted if the size is changed. TrueType fonts impart sharp text of the required size on both a printer and the screen.
They are the mathematical description of text characters that store a combination of lines and curves instead of pixels.

TrueType fonts were supported by Microsoft from Windows 3.1. All subsequent versions of Windows contain inbuilt support for True Type fonts. They can be installed from the Control Panel in a simple procedure. All the information about a TrueType font is stored in .ttf files.

TrueType fonts can exists on both Windows and Mac but they are treated differently on separate platforms. They may even vary from one version of an Operating System to another. The size and spacing vary to cause type reflow or incorrect spacing. This makes the TrueType fonts not very portable as a variation in the version or resolution on the source and destination systems can change the look of the font.

PostScript Fonts
PostScript, developed by Adobe Systems, is a language that describes text, graphics, and digitized images for printed pages. PostScript fonts are divided in two parts. The first, bitmap part is used by the system. The PostScript printers use the second, called a printer part. PostScript fonts have a scalable outline but they require special software to print clearly on a non- PostScript printer. Outline font technology is used to describe characters as a set of B-spline curves. The outline of a character is formed by these curves stored as mathematical constructs. The required size, style, and orientation is achieved by the printer controller by process sing these constructs. Then the object is filled with dots at the specified resolution.

PostScript Type 1 fonts
PostScript Type 1 fonts are supported by many operating systems. However, they may require additional software for optimal use.

On Macintosh, they are composed of two files. The first file contains the outline or the printer font. Its representative icon has a distinctive “A” inscribed on it. The second is the bitmap file called the screen font. Its icon resembles a suitcase. To use PostScript type 1 fonts, both these files have to be installed in the Fonts Folder.

Windows 95 and 98 do not provide native support for PostScript Type 1 fonts. Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Light has to be installed to use them. It can be downloaded free from the Adobe site. ATM enables installation of PS Type 1 fonts. It also ensures anti-aliased on-screen display and printing on a non-PostScript device.

The printer font files are stored in files with extension .PFB and the screen font is stored in .PFM files
Windows 2000 natively supports Type 1 fonts.

Postscript Type 3 fonts
PS Type 3 fonts are made up of characters. They are easier to create and have more elaborate designs like shades of gray and variable fill.
PS Type 3 fonts are installed on Mac in the same way as PS Type 1 fonts.
PS Type 3 fonts have some disadvantages too. They take up more memory and take longer to print. PS Type 3 font characters look slightly bolder than other font types. The rendering of PS Type 3 characters is also less efficient.

Multiple Masters Font
Multiple Masters format derives from Adobe’s Type 1 Post Scripts font. In it, the two opposite extremes of a single design are encoded. The user as per requirement can generate any in between variation. Thus, we have two ends on a design axis and any number of conceivable variations in between. There can be multiple axes too, but each axes should have two masters. Therefore, for a three axes Multiple Masters there are eight master fonts required.

The basic implementation of Multiple Masters technology is for weight (light to bold), width (condensed to enlarged) and optical size (text to display). Adobe Type Manager is required for using MM fonts. Till date, about 36 MM fonts have been designed mostly by Adobe. Some older devices like Apple's Personal LaserWriter NT, the HP LaserJet IIID, the PostScript cartridge for the HP LaserJet IIP, the TI micro Laser PostScript series cannot handle MM fonts. It is inconvenient to generate additional variations of a MM font. This is perhaps the reason for their lack of popularity.
 

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