Resources for Fonts and Typeface Information

All about fonts!

Think the difference between TrueType and Postscript® Type 1 fonts doesn't matter? Didn't even know there was a difference? Click here for An Overview of TrueType and PostScript® Type 1 Fonts to help clear these matters up.

Like to know more about the history of computer fonts? Click here for a link to "The History of TrueType".

Learn how to install and manage your fonts on Windows workstations using Adobe Type Manager.

List of system fonts.

Learn how to use fonts.

Need to identify a font? Check out these websites.

Out of curiosity, we ran a search for "fonts" in a common search engine, and received 3,150,000 hits. Using the more specific term "typeface foundry" netted nearly 6,000 matches.

So you can see that finding fonts could be considered overwhelming.

Our list is by no means comprehensive, but it will certainly get you started. We'd recommend you buying fonts from one of the larger, more well-known companies, since you know you'll be getting a quality product. But sure, some of the lesser-known companies have fun or specialized offerings, and who are we to say that you should live without a font that mimics Lizzie Borden's handwriting? (Sold by Killer Fonts, naturally — see below.)

You'll see that companies offer both TrueType and Postscript® Type 1 fonts, or specialize in one or the other. Many typefaces are available in both versions. Confused as to what you should choose? Here's a synopsis of the differences between the two.

Major Foundries and Resellers — You Can Get Just About Any Font Here

Adobe Systems Incorporated — www.adobe.com/type
Agfa Monotype — http://studio.agfamonotype.com/uscan/index
Berthold — www.bertholdtypes.com
Bitstream Inc. — www.bitstream.com
Eyewire — www.eyewire.com/products/type
FORdesigners.Com (formerly known as FontHaus) — www.fordesigners.com
Fontworks — www.fontworks1.type.co.uk
International Typeface Corporation — www.itcfonts.com
Linotype — www.linotypelibrary.com
Microsoft — www.microsoft.com/truetype
My Fonts — www.myfonts.com
Phil's Fonts — www.philsfonts.com

Other Companies, Smaller Foundries, Specialists, Etc.

The following small sampling will give you some idea of the range of the unique fonts available on the Internet. Ready to explore on your own? The easiest way to start is by searching for a typeface links page like at Phil's Fonts or TrueType Typography. The latter is an extensive listing of many aspects — foundries, articles, events, glossaries, etc. — of typographic information on the web.

Castle Fonts (www.castletype.com) — An eclectic collection of display typefaces, including many art deco revivals, classic type styles inspired by ancient sources, non-alphabetic decorative fonts, Cyrillic display faces, as well as many CastleType originals.

Chank (www.chank.com) — Fun and different fonts. As you can probably tell with names like Ammonia, Corndog, Mantisboy, Residoo, and Uncle Stinky…

Daniel Will-Harris' Store (www.will-harris.com/store.htm) — A small selection of typefaces personally selected by Daniel Will-Harris, a renowned typography expert, including architectural writing and other unique display faces.

Emigre (www.emigre.com) — Emigre holds exclusive license to over 270 original typeface designs created by a roster of contemporary designers and boasts a full line of typefaces, ornaments and illustrations.

Font Diner (www.fontdiner.com) — Retro-inspired fonts sold in collections known as Lunchbox, TV Dinner, Brownbag, and Doggiebag.

Free Fonts by Tom Murphy (http://fonts.tom7.com/fonts98.html) — This is a collection of TrueType fonts Tom Murphy "created for fun." He notes, "You can use them for free to do anything you want, you just can't take the fonts and resell them (on a CD, for instance). Read the license if you're not sure what this means."

Galapagos Design Group (www.galapagosdesign.com) — Combining the traditional with the original, aesthetics with technology, form with content, Galapagos offers extremely diverse font options.

Garage Fonts (www.garagefonts.com) — Wide selection of unique and creative fonts.

House Industries (www.houseind.com) — Home of House-a-rama, Tiki Type, Rat Fink Fonts — you get the idea...

Killer Fonts (www.killerfonts.com) — Fonts inspired by killers, dead presidents, dictators, cowboys, and more. Who knew?

Letterspace (www.letterspace.com) — Home to LetterPerfect Fonts, Legacy of Letters Tours, prints, publications & more. LetterPerfect is a specialized independent type foundry offering a diverse range of designs, ranging from classical and historically-derived styles to lively, contemporary scripts.

Mindcandy (www.mindcandy.com/fonts) — Eleven type foundries and a collection of type designers providing over 400 original typefaces for every mood, every project, and every client.

p22 (www.p22.com) — Many of the P22 fonts beautiful historic and artistic fonts, such as Frank Lloyd Wright Eaglefeather and Edward Hopper, are available through the assistance of museums and foundations — a portion of each sale of those fonts go to support the affiliated organizations and their educational programs.

The Font Bureau, Inc. (www.fontbureau.com) — The Font Bureau, an independent digital type foundry has as its primary goals to provide consultation, type design, and typographic production services to clients requiring custom type development, but it does have a large library of typefaces available for retail sale.

TypeArt Foundry Inc. (www.typeart.com) — "We specialize in designer fonts and typography with an edge," they say. Yup, that's true...

Walden Fonts (www.waldenfont.com) — Revolutionary War, Civil War, colonial-era and more handwriting-inspired fonts.

Need to identify a font? Here's help!

Identifont — http://www.identifont.com/index.html

What The Font — http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/

Find Fonts — http://www.myfonts.com/findfonts.html