With Winsoft Tasmeem plug-in, InDesign ME leaps to the sources of Arabic writing

Winsoft Tasmeem is a set of plug-ins of Adobe InDesign Middle Eastern version, which is specifically developed for Arabic typography. It makes Adobe InDesign ME the most comprehensive Arabic typesetting and design tool in the industry. As readers will know, Tasmeem is the Arabic term for both «design» and «tenacious pursuit of a plan»: for over a decade WinSoft and DecoType have been working towards this common goal.

By returning to the sources of the Arabic script traditions, Tasmeem revolutionizes the world of Arabic writing. It offers superior typographic quality, based on solid knowledge of its calligraphic roots. Within the constraints of Latin-biased font technology Arabic typography has not been able to deploy its full potential. Going back to the original concepts of elegant and legible Arabic script, Tasmeem offers the Arab world typography worthy of its rich calligraphic tradition. This development has been achieved in cooperation with DecoType who contributed groundbreaking font technology and designs.
With Winsoft Tasmeem you can truly put a calligrapher in your computer.

Tasmeem offers professional tools for shaping text - prose, poetry, commercial, traditional and educational texts.

Word Shaping: Provides solution to make subtle horizontal or vertical adjustments of single words. It offers an elaborate interface to access the calligraphic dimension of Arabic without interfering with the searchable plain Unicode text: WordShaper. The WordShaper rolls out a carpet of calligraphic alternatives for the letters nearest to the caret or the selected word.

Text Shaping: Another palette to handle the calligraphic dimension of Arabic script is the text shaping pane.
The TextShaper deals with the same calligraphic parameters as the WordShaper, but automates them for large amounts of text.

Arabic Spacing: Deals with horizontal relative positioning of Arabic letters and letter groups.

Selection helper: With its ligatures and vowels Arabic text can be quite delicate. A special tool for precision editing and typesetting is provided.

Rings: give the flexibility in the form of a professional series of ring options and tools for high quality publishing.

Catchword: use to create functional ornaments on the page spread or to make threads in newspapers and magazine easier to follow.

Publisher and Creative

The Winsoft Tasmeem family now consists of two product members each of them tailored to the requirements of specific user groups:

– Tasmeem Creative Edition fulfils the expectations of designers who need to work on one or two pages, and is being launched at the Gitex 2007. Its aim is to use elaborate typography on one or two pages and it includes the following tools (activated for two pages): Selection Helper, Arabic Spacing, Word Shaping and Text Shaping as well as the Emiri font.

– Tasmeem Publisher Edition is a high-end product dedicated to the publishing house for sophisticated book production. It includes the following tools: Selection helper, Arabic Spacing, Word Shaping, Text Shaping, Catchword and Rings, as well as the two Tasmeem fonts, Naskh and Emiri.

WinSoft released two elaborate Fonts to support the Tasmeem plug-in, the Naskh script and the Emiri typeface for InDesign Middle Eastern Edition.

Emiri Font is a meticulous reconstruction of the metal typesetting method developed by the Ameeriyya workshop in Cairo to set the 1924 Holy Koran. With Emiri it is possible to create Unicode-based searchable Koran text with the familiar appearance of today’s printed editions. Tasmeem’s shaping and spacing controls make Emiri very effective in literary productions and creative work.

Tasmeem Naskh is the typographic continuation of the great calligraphic tradition of the same name. It is plain and simple. It is based on exhaustive analysis of Ottoman manuscript practice. This typeface faithfully captures the historical naskh as it evolved from practical calligraphy into the best legible Arabic typography ever designed.

It is worth mentioning that these two fonts work only with InDesign Middle East Edition and mark the beginning of a trend to make accurate reconstructions and emulations of the best Arabic typography produced in the Middle East. Moreover, a series of brand-new, original designs is planned as well: Classic Styles, High-end Typography and Creative Design.