Ikarus is a type design and production software developed by URW foundry, for converting existing typefaces and logos into digital format for use on computer driven printing, plotting and sign cutting devices. It was licensed by major foundries such as Agfa-Compugraphic, Autologic, Berthold, ITC International Typeface Corporation, Letraset, Linotype, Monotype, Stempel, and others. Its "IK" format was convertible into diverse vendor representations, including Type3 and Type1 PostScript formats as well as the TrueType format by Apple and Microsoft. Ikarus uses a spline model of the outline shape of each character within a typeface to give a fully scalable representation. The curve segments are essentially circle arcs, with tangent continuity maintained at joins. It is a very simple format to mark up manually. Being a vector/curve based format, any rendering resolution can be attained (by rasterisation) with equal accuracy from one relatively small set of data. The Ikarus coordinates for a shape all fall on the outline of that shape (as opposed to Bézier curves where 'control' points can be inside or outside the outline). The functionality of Ikarus can be expanded using plug-ins. History Originally invented by URW employee Dr Peter Karow, Ikarus (German spelling of the mythical figure Icarus) got its name from the frequency with which it crashed in the early days of its development. It was designed to run on minicomputers such as DEC VAX and later adapted to microcomputers as they became increasingly powerful. In 1975, IKARUS was introduced at ATypI in Warsaw. By the 1980s a huge library of typefaces and logos existed as photographic film and needed to be input into computers for the latest generation of printing and sign-making devices. Unfortunately, normal scanning gives a rasterized shape at the resolution of the scanning device which leads to degradation of quality when scaling up and down. This is a particular concern in the sign making industry where individual letters may be metres across, many times the size of the original artwork. Ikarus enables a human operator to input the features of a complex shape with curves, corners and straight lines (e.g. a letter of the alphabet) to a computer which stores it as a mathematical representation, for all intents and purposes independent of the size of the original artwork and of the final output. A version of Ikarus tailored for signmaking applications was released by URW as "Signus". The advent of desktop publishing in