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@jloutsch jloutsch commented Oct 6, 2025

Summary

This PR adds a comprehensive fast-fonts-for-kindle folder containing properly structured font families that resolve the Kindle compatibility issues reported in #8 and other issues.

Problem Statement

Multiple users have reported that bold text doesn't display correctly on Kindle devices. The root cause is that Kindle requires a complete font family with all 4 variants (Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic) to properly render bold and italic text. Single font files with embedded bold glyphs don't work correctly on Kindle.

Solution

This PR provides 6 complete font families, each with all 4 variants in OTF format:

Font Families Included

  • Fast Sans - Clean sans-serif for general reading
  • Fast Sans Dotted - Sans-serif with space-reading dots
  • Fast Serif - Traditional serif font
  • Fast Atkinson - Based on Atkinson Hyperlegible (enhanced readability)
  • Fast Atkinson Dotted - Atkinson with space-reading dots
  • Fast OpenDyslexic - Optimized for readers with dyslexia

Each family includes:

  • ✅ 4 complete variants (Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic)
  • ✅ OTF format for maximum Kindle compatibility
  • ✅ Proper PANOSE classification (fixes serif display bug)
  • ✅ Language system declarations (latn, grek, cyrl)
  • ✅ Unique family metadata (prevents font conflicts)
  • ✅ Preview images for easy identification

Technical Improvements

  1. Complete Font Families: Each family has all 4 variants as separate files, which Kindle requires for proper bold/italic rendering
  2. OTF Format: Better compatibility with older Kindle devices compared to TTF
  3. Fixed Metadata: Proper PANOSE classification (2,11,5,2,2,2,2,2,2,4) prevents the font name from displaying in serif
  4. Language Support: Explicit languagesystem declarations ensure the speed-reading features work correctly
  5. Unique Family Names: Each font family has distinct metadata to prevent Kindle from confusing them

New Font Families

Beyond the original Fast Sans/Serif fonts:

  • Fast Atkinson: Based on Atkinson Hyperlegible by Braille Institute - designed with enhanced character distinction for improved readability
  • Fast OpenDyslexic: Based on OpenDyslexic - features weighted bottoms to help reduce letter confusion for readers with dyslexia

Installation Instructions

Users should:

  1. Download the entire folder for their chosen font family (e.g., Fast_Sans)
  2. Copy all 4 OTF files to their Kindle's fonts folder
  3. Select the font from Kindle's font menu

Related Issues

Fixes #8 - Bold text not showing on Kindle
Addresses user reports of fonts not appearing or bold not working

Additional Resources

For detailed installation instructions and documentation, see the standalone repository: https://github.com/jloutsch/fast-fonts-for-kindle


🤖 Generated with Claude Code

This addresses multiple Kindle compatibility issues reported in Born2Root#8 and other issues
by providing properly structured font families optimized specifically for Kindle devices.

## What's Included

The `fast-fonts-for-kindle` folder contains 6 font families, each with complete
4-variant sets (Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic) in OTF format:

- **Fast Sans** / **Fast Sans Dotted** - Clean sans-serif fonts
- **Fast Serif** - Traditional serif font
- **Fast Atkinson** / **Fast Atkinson Dotted** - Based on Atkinson Hyperlegible
- **Fast OpenDyslexic** - Based on OpenDyslexic, optimized for dyslexia

## Why This Fixes Kindle Issues

**Problem:** Many users reported that bold text doesn't show correctly on Kindle (Issue Born2Root#8).

**Root Cause:** Kindle requires a complete font family with all 4 variants (Regular,
Italic, Bold, Bold Italic) to properly display bold and italic text. Single font files,
even with embedded bold glyphs, won't work correctly.

**Solution:** Each family now includes:
- All 4 style variants as separate OTF files
- Proper PANOSE classification (fixes serif display issue)
- Correct language system declarations (latn, grek, cyrl)
- Unique family metadata for proper font detection
- Preview images for easy identification

## Technical Improvements

1. **OTF Format**: Better compatibility with older Kindle devices
2. **Complete Families**: 4-variant sets for proper bold/italic rendering
3. **Fixed Metadata**: Proper PANOSE (2,11,5,2,2,2,2,2,2,4) prevents serif fallback
4. **Language Support**: Explicit languagesystem declarations for Kindle compatibility
5. **Unique Names**: Each family has distinct metadata to prevent conflicts

## Additional Font Families

Beyond the original Fast Sans/Serif fonts, this adds:

- **Fast Atkinson**: Based on Braille Institute's Atkinson Hyperlegible font,
  designed for enhanced readability with improved character distinction
- **Fast OpenDyslexic**: Based on OpenDyslexic font with weighted bottoms to
  reduce letter confusion for readers with dyslexia
- **Dotted Variants**: Space-reading technique with dots between words

## Installation

Users should download the entire folder for their chosen font family and copy
all 4 OTF files to their Kindle's fonts folder.

See https://github.com/jloutsch/fast-fonts-for-kindle for detailed installation
instructions and additional documentation.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Kindle compatibilty

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