Question: What is postscript type 1 and what is the history behind it? 

Answer: Postscript is a page definition language. It is a very powerful language but at its root it is meant to descibe the lines, arcs, text, and images on a printed page. It was originally developed at Xerox Parc, and because Xerox had no interesting in commercializing it, some Xerox employees took it and started Adobe. Micrsoft then licensed postscript technology and the rest is history. Postscript type 1 defines an initial set of commands, postscript type 2 is a newer version that supports a wider set of operations. For instance I believe gradients are supported in type 2 but not type 1.
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