POSTSCRIPT: how to change the weight of a font?

Question

I have a regular font only and I want to make certain text look bold, how can I change the weight of the font?

I tried using /Arial findfont [12 0 0 10 0 0] makefont setfont but it makes the font wider not fatter.

Answer 1

Short answer is 'you can't'. If your font is a multiple master font and has a bold design axis then you could use that. Otherwise there is no way to ge a true bold that will satisfy a typographer.

You can draw the text 4 times at slightly different horizontal and vertical offsets (the corners of a small square), this is a common way to create a 'fake bold' effect for a font family that isn't available as a bold face. Its not truly a bold font though.