Working with Fonts | Adobe InDesign CS3 Bible

Fonts, traditionally known as typefaces , are a collection of characters that share a similar look. Fonts usually include several variations such as bold and italic. The electronic files that make up fonts are managed by your operating system or other utilities, not by InDesign. InDesign doesn't come with fonts and it doesn't manage fonts. So when you're talking about fonts, you're talking about foundries (companies that design and distribute fonts), Mac OS and Windows features, and third-party utilities and applications that manage fonts.

Procuring fonts

No matter what type of design or publishing you're doing, you'll need ‚ or you'll eventually acquire ‚ lots of fonts. You can never have enough, and there are so many interesting yet useful ones. There are five ways to get fonts: You can create your own, get them free with applications, acquire them through colleagues, purchase them, or translate them from one platform to another.

Created fonts: The FontLab program for Windows and Macs lets you create fonts in all popular font formats, for both Windows and Mac users. And although it hasn't been updated in years , Macromedia Fontographer was long the premier tool for creating fonts, as well as for adding or modifying characters in existing fonts (such as adding the euro currency symbol [ ] to older fonts). If you happen to still own a copy, note that Fontographer hasn't been updated for Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Mac OS X, but it will run under those operating systems (Windows 2000 and XP users should read the technical notes at www.macromedia.com/software/fontographer; Mac OS X users should note that Fontographer will run under Classic mode).
Free fonts: More and more programs come with free fonts (all the imageediting and illustration programs mentioned earlier do, for example). In addition, you can download free fonts from many Web sites. I list some popular sources at www.INDDcentral.com . Or just type free fonts into a search engine such as Google ( www.google.com ) and it's a free-for-all. Although this is an inexpensive way to build a font collection, it may not provide all the fonts you need. The quality can vary, and service bureaus may balk at using some of these fonts, because they don't come from a source they know. For a variety of technical and aesthetic reasons, it is generally prudent to avoid substituting free fonts for their similar-looking, more costly, and usually more carefully created cousins from Adobe, Bitstream, or Agfa Monotype and the like. Your files may have bad reflow or even fail to output at all.
Acquired fonts: Often, people will e-mail fonts with a file they want you to edit. And most people will send you fonts upon request, because the files are small and easily portable. In most cases, this is in violation of the font's license agreement, so it isn't a good way to build a font library. Providing fonts to a service bureau for one-time output is usually okay, but "acquiring" fonts is generally a poor ‚ even illegal ‚ way to build a font collection.
Purchased fonts: Although you can go into a computer store and purchase font CDs, the most convenient method is to buy them online. You can do everything from purchasing base collections of fonts to get you started to buying a single font you need to work on a client's document. Good sites include www.adobe.com , www.fonts.com , www.fontsite.com , www.itcfonts.com , and www.myfonts.com . All five sites are worth visiting to learn about and explore typography.
Translated fonts: Although major font houses offer Mac and Windows versions of their fonts, many free and low-price fonts come only in one version of the other. Cross-platform publishers need to have the same fonts on both platforms, and to do so, Acute Systems offers the $45 CrossFont, a Windows program that translates TrueType and PostScript fonts bidirectionally between Mac and Windows. FontLab offers TransType, a $97 Mac program that converts fonts across platforms, as well as from TrueType to PostScript or vice versa. And UniDoc Systems offers the $50 Truekeys to convert East Asian TrueType fonts between Mac and Windows.

TrueType, OpenType, or PostScript?

The most basic question about fonts usually is whether you should use TrueType, OpenType, or PostScript fonts. The answer depends on the work you do. If you produce newsletters, magazines, ads, or brochures that you output on a typesetter or imagesetter, use PostScript, because PostScript is the standard format on these devices. If your final output is to a laser or ink-jet printer, TrueType is probably the better bet, because it prints faster in most cases, especially if you print to a non-PostScript printer. However, you don't have to use one font format exclusively: OpenType is increasingly popular, since it is a merger of PostScript and TrueType. But make sure your service bureau can work with OpenType fonts before using them. Follow these guidelines when choosing which font formats to use:

If you see a TrueType typeface that you want to use in your typeset document, use it. The Mac and Windows operating systems automatically convert TrueType fonts into PostScript format when printing to a PostScript device (or to a file designated for use by a PostScript device). The drawback is that this conversion process may make your files larger because the computer must download the converted TrueType font file into your document.
But if you're sending files to a service bureau for output, don't use TrueType fonts. Stay all-PostScript. Similarly, if you're outputting to the Acrobat portable document format (PDF), either for prepress or electronic distribution, avoid using TrueType fonts. You cannot reliably embed TrueType fonts in PDF files.
Conversely, if you have PostScript typefaces, there's no reason to give them up if you switch to TrueType. On a PostScript printer, you can use both formats. On other printers, all you need is a program such as the free Adobe Type Manager Light for Windows to make the outlines of the letters appear smooth when they print. Mac OS X does this conversion automatically.

Don't base decisions about whether to use TrueType or PostScript fonts on assumptions about quality. Both technologies provide excellent results, so any quality differences are due to the font manufacturer's standards. If you purchase typefaces from recognized companies, you don't need to worry. (Many smaller companies produce high-quality fonts as well.)

There's a new format slowly coming into use called OpenType, which essentially is a merger of the TrueType and PostScript standards. Before using these fonts, make sure your service bureau or imagesetter can handle them. Mac OS X, Windows 2000, and Windows XP all support them, as do current versions of font managers. In a few years, they'll be normal and supported by newer equipment, but it generally takes several years for new technologies to be widely deployed, so check first. InDesign supports these fonts, including their special capabilities such as access to more special characters and international characters.

Tip ‚

A book such as the Adobe Type Library Reference Book, available from www.adobe.com , shows printed samples of hundreds of typefaces. You can use this kind of book to select a typeface for a specific job, then you can purchase the font. This can save you hours in sifting through your fonts and poring over Web pages to find the typeface you want to use.

Cross-Reference ‚

Go to www.INDDcentral.com for quick links to font sources and other font resources.

Installing fonts through the operating system

When you get a font on your computer, you need to install it so applications such as InDesign can recognize it ‚ and let you use it. The procedures are different depending on your operating system and whether you're using a font manager.

Macintosh fonts

In Mac OS X, fonts can exist in several places:

Fonts folder in the Library folder (/Library/Fonts/): This is where you should place fonts that you want all users to have access to. Just drag them in, whether PostScript, TrueType, or Open Type.
Fonts folder in the user's Home folder's Library folder (/Users/[your user name ]/Library/Fonts/): Any fonts dragged here will be available only to that user.
Fonts folder in the System folder's Library folder (/System/Library/Fonts/): This is where Apple places the default fonts for Mac OS X applications. You can add fonts here as well by dragging them, but I recommend you leave this folder alone.

Any fonts installed in the Mac OS X folders will not be available to Mac OS 9 applications. You need to also maintain fonts in the System Folder's Fonts folder ‚ note that the Mac OS 9 folder name is System Folder while the Mac OS X folder name is simply System ‚ or use a Mac OS 9 font manager such as Adobe Type Manager.

If you use a third-party font manager such as DiamondSoft's Font Reserve or Extensis's Suitcase, your fonts can be installed anywhere as long as you have told the font manager where they are stored. These programs can autoactivate fonts as needed for both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 applications, and I strongly recommend you invest in one. (Note that Adobe has no plans to release a Mac OS X version of Adobe Type Manager or Adobe Type Reunion.)

Another source of confusion for new Mac OS X users is its nonsupport of Multiple Masters PostScript fonts. The Multiple Masters format lets programs modify fonts on the fly, such as creating a semibold version from a bold typeface. But the format never took off or got widespread adoption. So Mac OS X is essentially killing off the format. That means that Mac OS 9 applications running under Mac OS X can use Multiple Masters fonts, but native Mac OS X applications like InDesign CS cannot. That can cause problems when opening older InDesign documents with Multiple Masters fonts in InDesign CS. So, you'll need to replace the Multiple Masters fonts with PostScript or OpenType fonts. If you created instances of Multiple Masters fonts ‚ such as a semibold ‚ don't worry: When those instances are saved or exported as their own font files, they're no longer Multiple Masters fonts and should work just fine under Mac OS X.

Note ‚

When you install Mac fonts, make sure you install both the screen fonts and the printer fonts for each PostScript font. You may have a font suitcase ‚ a special font file ‚ with several screen fonts for your PostScript font, or you may have separate files for each screen font, depending on which option the company decided to use. OpenType and TrueType fonts don't come in several files ‚ all variants are in one suitcase. Also, the same single OpenType suitcase file will work for both Mac OS X and Windows 2000 and XP, so there is no need to purchase separate Mac and PC versions of an OpenType font.

Windows fonts

You can add TrueType fonts to Windows through the Fonts control panel. PostScript fonts, however, require a font manager such as Font Reserve, ATM Light or Deluxe, or Suitcase.

To add TrueType fonts to Windows:

Choose Start ‚ Settings ‚ Control Panel to open the Control Panel folder, and then double-click the Fonts folder.
Choose File ‚ Install New Font to get the Add Fonts dialog box shown in Figure 38-1.

Figure 38-1: The Fonts window for adding TrueType fonts in Windows.
Navigate the dialog box using the Folders and Drives scroll lists to get to the folder or disk that has the TrueType fonts you want to install.

A list of fonts will appear in the dialog box.
Select the fonts to install and click OK.

Using a font manager and font utilities

Although you can manage fonts to a certain extent through the operating system, I highly recommend that you use a font manager. With a font manager, you can control precisely which fonts are active at any one time. This is important because many different versions and kinds (PostScript, TrueType, and OpenType) of fonts exist with the same name ‚ and simply using any font with the same name is not okay. For example, if you use TrueType Helvetica instead of PostScript Helvetica, the text in the document may reflow, altering the design and even cutting off text. In addition to a font manager, most Windows users will need the free Adobe ATM Light for viewing PostScript fonts on-screen and most Mac users will want a font menu manager.

Using font managers

With a font manager such as DiamondSoft Font Reserve, Extensis Suitcase, or Adobe ATM Deluxe (Windows-only), you can see more information about fonts and activate fonts on the fly without restarting programs. My favorite, in terms of compatibility and features, is Font Reserve. On the Mac, the drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to install and export fonts; on Windows, you can easily create a library of all the TrueType, PostScript, and OpenType fonts on your system. On both platforms, Font Reserve provides features such as on-screen previews, sample printing, character maps, and sets for grouping fonts for projects (see Figure 38-2).

Figure 38-2: Font Reserve provides an intuitive interface for installing fonts, activating fonts on the fly, previewing fonts, and creating font sets.

Because Extensis Suitcase was the first popular font manager, many Mac OS and Windows users are accustomed to using it and prefer to stick with it. That's fine, too.

Using ATM Light in Windows

Platform Difference ‚

A potentially confusing issue with Windows font managers is that a necessary control panel ‚ ATM Light ‚ often masquerades as the font manager ATM Deluxe. That's not a problem if you're using ATM Deluxe in Windows, but it is if you use another font manager. The reason is that no matter what font manager you use, you need the ATM Light control panel to render PostScript fonts on-screen for Windows. ATM Light comes with many programs and is available from www.adobe.com .

Although ATM Deluxe incorporates ATM Light, you don't need it ‚ and in fact, you can't use it ‚ if you're using another font manager or are installing fonts through the operating system. If you're using Suitcase or Font Reserve, you can't simply disable the Deluxe features of ATM Deluxe. To prevent conflicts, you need to remove ATM Deluxe and replace it with ATM Light.