TeXipedia

pslatex

Configures LaTeX to use PostScript fonts by default, with automatic scaling adjustments for improved visual harmony between different font families.

Overview

Provides a streamlined approach to using professional PostScript fonts in LaTeX documents, though now considered largely obsolete due to modern alternatives. The package automatically handles font substitutions and scaling:

  • Replaces Computer Modern with Times for text and math
  • Scales Helvetica to 90% for better visual balance with Times
  • Adjusts Courier by condensing it to 85% width

While historically significant for professional document production, modern LaTeX users are encouraged to explore contemporary font solutions like fontspec or the broader PSNFSS collection directly. The package's main value was in providing a simple, one-step solution for PostScript font integration when such options were limited.

Getting Started

This package is obsolete and should not be used in new documents. The pslatex package was designed to use PostScript fonts by default, but current psnfss uses different techniques for font scaling, and better fixed-width fonts are now available.

For modern documents requiring Times/Helvetica/Courier fonts, use the following instead:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{mathptmx}  % Times with math support
\usepackage[scaled=0.92]{helvet}  % Helvetica with better scaling
\usepackage{courier}  % Or consider lmodern for better monospace fonts

Examples

Basic document using PostScript fonts with pslatex package.

This document uses Times as the main text font, scaled Helvetica for sans-serif, and condensed Courier for monospaced text.

\textsf{This text appears in Helvetica, scaled to 90\% of its normal size.}

\texttt{This text appears in Courier, horizontally condensed to 85\%.}

$E = mc^2$ shows the math typesetting with PostScript fonts.

Document with mathematics using pslatex package.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pslatex}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\section{Mathematical Expressions with PostScript Fonts}

The pslatex package changes the default math fonts to match the Times text font:

\[
\int_{0}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}
\]

And for inline math like $F = ma$ or $E = mc^2$, the fonts are also changed to match.

\textbf{Bold text} and \textit{italic text} are in Times, while \textsf{sans-serif text} is in scaled Helvetica.
\end{document}