Buyer’s Guide: Choosing a desktop format

Surprise! It’s a Buyer’s Guide on Tuesday and we’re here to help you choose the correct desktop format for the programs you use. Many foundries give you the choice between formats and you’ll want to keep in mind the programs that you will be using the fonts in daily.

OpenType (.otf) fonts typically have additional features that can only be accessed by programs that support them. OpenType works best in software like Adobe® Illustrator® and Adobe® InDesign®.

Although Microsoft Word 2010 supports some OpenType features, not all characters can be accessed if the font has a massive amount of alternates. For example, trying to access all the alternate swashes in Feel Script in PowerPoint would be painful. Don’t do it.

Also, you’ll only be disappointed further because OpenType fonts don’t embed well in PowerPoint.

Buyer’s Guide will resume at its normal schedule next week.

Buyer’s Guide: How to choose the right desktop format

Many foundries like to give you an option to license a font in different formats and customers always ask which format is better. The answer is that your decision should be based on the programs that you will be using the fonts in.

Here are some suggestions on choosing the right desktop format.

OpenType (.otf) fonts typically have additional features that can only be accessed by programs that support them. OpenType works best in software like Adobe® Illustrator® and Adobe® InDesign®.

Although Microsoft Word 2010 supports some OpenType features, not all characters can be accessed if the font has a massive amount of alternates. For example, trying to access all the alternate swashes in Feel Script in PowerPoint would be painful. Don’t do it.

Also, you’ll only be disappointed further because OpenType fonts don’t embed well in PowerPoint.

If your workflow includes Microsoft Office programs, like Excel and Powerpoint, then we recommend licensing TrueType formats over OpenType. And if the font doesn’t have a TrueType version, contact us and we can suggest an alternate typeface that may work for you.

Buyer’s Guide: Best Format for Microsoft Office

TrueType (.ttf) and TrueType-flavored OpenType (.ttf) work best in Microsoft® Office. Typically, PostScript-flavored OpenType (.otf) contain additional features and glyphs that apps like Excel®, Word®, and PowerPoint® can not access. Also, PowerPoint® only allows TrueType fonts to be embedded into a saved presentation.

So when you are purchasing a license for a font, make sure that you are getting the correct format. You’ll want to select PC TrueType or TrueType-flavored OpenType. Any font that has a TT icon is a TrueType font and you can use the legend below to help guide your way through the different formats on FontShop for all the products we provide.

Don’t worry, TrueType works with Macs and choosing the correct OpenType-flavor is easy!

Buyer’s Guide: Font Formats

A couple weeks ago, we talked about how TrueType works with Macs — but what about the other formats, you ask? Let’s take a look at the different font formats:

OpenType, TrueType, and PostScript are the various formats that you might find fonts available in. OpenType and TrueType are compatible on both Macs and PCs while PostScript fonts are computer-specific. Webfonts come in two formats — EOT and WOFF — that you can read more about in our “What is EOT and WOFF?” post. If you’re deciding which format is the best option for you, here are some points to remember:

OpenType fonts are usually the best option, as they work on both Mac and PCs. However, not all applications are “OpenType-savvy”, so there might be some cool OpenType features like swashes and stylistic alternates that you may not be able to access if you don’t plan on using design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite programs.

TrueType fonts are a better choice if you plan on using Microsoft Office programs such as Word or Powerpoint. MS Office programs have little to no support for OpenType and tend to have issues accessing those cool swashes you want to use.

PostScript fonts are a legacy format that tend to cause issues on newer computers, which is typically why we suggest choosing OpenType or TrueType whenever possible. PostScript fonts are computer specific, meaning they will only work on either a Mac or PC, not both.

Webfonts cannot be installed on your computer but are instead used in coding for websites, typically using the @font-face CSS rule.

While browsing the fonts on FontShop, you’ll notice that they’ll have some kind of indicator of what format they’re available in, similar to the icons in the Font Format guide above.

Buyer’s Tips: Choosing an OpenType Flavor.

Did you know that OpenType comes in two flavors? PostScript-flavored OpenType fonts have .otf endings and TrueType-flavored OpenType fonts have .ttf endings. Both flavors are cross-platform and can be installed on either a Mac or PC.

TrueType-flavored OpenType fonts will have an OT/TT badge and are optimal for programs— such as PowerPoint and Excel— that do not fully support all OpenType features.

While PostScript-flavored OpenType fonts will have an OT badge and works best in programs—like Adobe InDesign —that can support all OpenType features.

So if you are working with a client that uses MS Word and you recommend that they license an OpenType version of the font, please make sure that you let them know which flavor is best. We have a great post on FontFont’s OpenType formats you should read if you’re eager for an in-depth explanation that uses FF DIN as example.

Buyer’s Guide: TrueType works with Macs

Some fonts on FontShop are unfortunately only available in PostScript and TrueType formats. While we generally recommend not purchasing PostScript fonts whenever possible, we understand that Mac users may be concerned about compatibility — don’t worry, TrueType works with Macs!

Although during checkout, the format options may be noted as “PC TrueType”, this format is in fact compatible with Macs. Mac users can install TrueType fonts on their computers. If you’re a Mac user running OSX, we recommend purchasing TrueType instead of Mac PostScript if OpenType is not an option since PostScript is a legacy format that may cause issues on newer computers. TrueType files end in .ttf which you can install and use on Macs.

Next week, we’ll go over the differences of the formats — stay tuned!

Theresa’s Tips: Choosing the Correct Format

Welcome to a new series from Theresa at our Sales & Support Desk. Any support questions you want answered in the future? Let us know in the comments section.

When purchasing fonts, you want to make sure that you choose the correct format. Here’s a brief overview of the different formats that we have available at FontShop.

OpenType fonts are cross-platform and will work on both Macs and PCs. This format is best used with applications that support OpenType features, such as InDesign. Some OpenType fonts are created with PostScript metrics and others are created with TrueType metrics. Postscript flavored OpenType have .otf ending while TrueType flavored OpenType have .ttf endings.

TrueType fonts will also work on both Macs and PCs. Certain Windows-based applications, such as MS Office, work best with this format because these applications have limited OpenType support.

PostScript fonts only work on either a Mac or a PC, not both. This format is also referred to as Type 1 font. It is an older format that can be difficult to install in newer operating systems.

Webfonts come in EOT/WOFF formats, which use @font-face to embed the font into your site.

To make things easier we’ve added icons on all our products so that you know what format a typeface is available in. Use the guide below to help you navigate through our site.

To learn more about formats visit Help Topics/ Font Format Questions