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About Type & Fonts newsletter
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In this issue:
Featured Fab Font
By far, the greatest number of free fonts are decorative, script, and display faces. However, there are a few good text fonts around. Niew CroMagnon from Graham Meade gives you both. It includes a regular serif face suitable for body copy along with wide and narrow versions for special uses, and one called Callig which is an outline or openface font. Called 'testware' it is free for personal use. Donations welcome but not required. For commercial use, contact the author.
Download: Windows [TrueType] | Macintosh [TrueType]
Web site: GemFont 98 (archive location) - more great free packages including other text fonts (PC only)
Commercial Picks
How do you manage all those great fonts -- free or not -- on your hard drive? Here are two programs to consider:
Font Navigator
Bitstream has a little extra incentive for you to buy their award-winning utility: free fonts. You'll get several professional Pi, Display, and Text fonts free with your purchase of this tool for organizing font groups, installing, viewing, and printing samples.
Font Navigator 3.0.1 | Windows 98, 95, NT4, NT/Digital Alpha | Online ordering available
Adobe Type Manager Deluxe
Today you can manage TrueType, PostScript Type 1, and OpenType fonts with one utility. Create, activate, and deactivate groups, Add and remove fonts. Preview and print installed or uninstalled fonts and create multiple master font instances. Oh, and you also get 15 free fun and useful commercial fonts in the package too.
Adobe Type Manager Deluxe | 4.6 for Mac / 4.1 for Windows | Online ordering available
Font Factoid
Leading is the space between lines of text. Pronounced ledd-ing, its name comes from the practice of using metal strips (usually lead) of varying widths to separate lines of text in the days of metal type. Although it refers to the space between lines of text, its measurement is generally specified as the amount of space from baseline to baseline, measured in points just like type. What is the optimal amount of leading for type? One rule of thumb suggests adding about 20% or around 2 points to the point size of your text as a starting point for adjusting leading. Less is generally too crowded.
Setting Leading in Your Software
An About Desktop Publishing Letter and Line Spacing link
Favorite Fonts
The top 5 font favorites the second week of 2001:
Exmouth -- Handwriting/Script
Bridgnorth -- Decorative/Calligraphy
CommScript -- Handwriting/Script
Loki Cola -- Handwriting/Script
4YEO Stamp -- Decorative/Stencils
Font Library
TypeTalk
Looking for a specific font or font-related software? Have a problem with font installation or looking for ideas for your next project? There's a forum just for you: About Type & Fonts.
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