ùGø ù.O. Graphics, Iønc., a leading supplier ùof PCù-based typesettiøng software, and øùAtari Corporation of ùSunnyvaleø, CA have øsùignùed an agreøemenùtø to develop a low-coøst, high-quality desktop publishing system based on the Atari Mega ST2 and ST4 computers and the Atari SLM8ù04 ùlasùerù printer which was unveiled earlier this year and will be relø eaøsøedù in the fall quarter.The product is basedø on G.O. Graphics' Deskset typesetting software which is currently available for MS-øDOS computers and is compatible with Com  pugraphic typesetting systems. Deskset is a professional-level typesetting package which is popular among typeshops, printing firms, graphics studios and publishers. It provieds all the functionality of dedicated typesetting systems which typically cost $25,000 to $50,000.Deskset uses genuine Com  pugraphic scalable outline fonts, which will be incorporated into the Atari system. Each font can be set in 134 sizes from 5-point to 72-point in half-point increments. Any font can be set in reverse video (white type on a black background) or condesnced or expanded in half-point increments. The kerning capabilities of the fonts are unique in a personal computer-based product. The font data includes automatic sectored kerning, which is algorithmic kerning based on character shapes. User-definable kerning pairs may be specified by the user to supplement the sectored kerning, with 256 unique kerning pairs per font.The Atari system will also utilize Deskset's WYSIWYG technology. According to Dave Price, G.O. Graphics Product Manager, Deskset's WYSIWYG screen is generated from the same scalable outline font data that is used to print the page. You can see the actual kerning and letterspacing that you'll get when the page is printed or typeset. This capability is highly desirable and does not exist in other packages available for the Macintosh and IBM.Additional benefits from the G.O. Graphics technology is that font cartridges and bitmap fonts are not used. The fonts are not downloaded to the printer and there is no RAM required in the printer. Instead, the page is built in the RAM of the Mega ST and output to the laser printer as full-page bitmap through a DMA port in the MEGA ST. Because there are no fonts and no RAM required in the printer and a page description language is not used, the Atari printer can sell at a favorable price.Another advantage is tha printing throughput time is extremely fast for two reasons. The DMA printer interface accesses the page bitmpa directly and there is no processing overhead as with systems which use page description languages. The printing method is similar to that used in the MS-DOS version of DESKSET, which uses a 2-megabyte JLaser Plus from Tall Tree Systems which drives most laser printer engines directly.The Atari system will generate high-quality typography because all of the features which exist in the MS-DOS version of Deskset will be ported to the Atari version running under TOS, the Atari operating system. It will feature linguistic-based hyphenation in eight languages supported by user-modifiable exception hyphenation dictionaries; autmotic and manual character compensation(white space redution and tracking); floating tabs; auto tabs; minimum, maximum and preferred settings for wordspace and letterspace expansion; negative and positive letterspacing for attractive justification; pagination with widow/orphan control; rules, boxes and graophics support; automatic indents (including hanging indents); automatic columnar text flow with text runarounds; control of minimum number of characters before and after a hyphen; and control of maximum number of consectuively hyphenated lines. Deskset currently uses typesetting commands identical to those found in Compugraphic typesetting systems. G.O. Graphics is removing the commands and incorporationg the TOS windows-mouse-icons-menus interface for an interactive WYSIWYG product.An option planned for the system is the capability to typeset files from the Mega ST to approximately 24,000 Compugraphic MCS typesetting systems installed in the United States. The MS-DOS Deskset product currently drives a Compugraphic typesetter directly via driver software and a board manufactured by G.O. Graphics, or via a compatible diskette written in MCS disk format. Output from the Atari laser printer would be an exact proof of the typeset page bacause the Compugraphic fonts, character sets, couting algorithms and width valuse are identical to those found in Compugraphic typesetting systems.G.O. Graphics has developed text-processing systems since 1973. It has provided communications and interfacing products on an OEM basis to such firms as Compugraphic, Allied Linotype, Varityper and Xerox. It began shipping Deskset in August, 1986. For further information Contact G.O. Graphics, 18 Ray Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803 (617) 229-8900 or Atari Corporation, 1196 Borregas AVenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (408) 745-2367.