Introducing...
You're reading the first issue of a new weekly online newsletter. Each week we'll profile a different free font or free font package and introduce special selections of shareware or commercial foundry offerings plus pick up a tip or font fact too. When new fonts are added to the main Font Library, you'll read about it here too.

Featured Fab Font
In our premiere issue we're taking a glance back and looking forward with SF Retroesque from the creative minds at ShyFonts Type Foundry. They describe it as an "eclectic typeface with a retro feel." What a great way to start the new year, with a nod to the past and a bit of a futuristic look too. And the bonus... ShyFonts Type Foundry doesn't just give you one font, they hand out complete packages. SF Retroesque includes normal, oblique, outline, and shaded versions -- 8 fonts in all.

Notes: Each font contains a full character set, upper and lowercase characters, numbers, punctuation, and accented characters. Print & preview embedding allowed. This is Version 2.0 of SF Retroesque.

Download: Windows | Macintosh [TrueType]

Web site: ShyFonts Type Foundry - more great free packages

Commercial Picks
New at BoyBeaver Fonts: ZigZagBoy
Looks as if printed with a calligraphy pen, extreme thick/thin strokes. It could be formal or casual.
U&lc; Regular & Italic | Mac/PC | Postscript/TrueType | $69.95US | Online ordering available

New at Dinc Fonts: SpyBoy
Each character is encircled by an orbiting object (a spy satellite?). A decorative font.
Upper case | Mac/PC | Postscript/TrueType | $29.00US | Online ordering available

Font Factoid
The face we know as Times New Roman was originally developed for The Times newspaper. Legal wrangling and various re-drawings of the original design leaves us with a few different versions including Linotype's Times Roman and Monotype's Times New Roman. When Microsoft, through a license from Monotype, produced its' Times New Roman in TrueType format, it launched a competition of sorts to develop and improve font scaling technologies to produce the perfect Times and better looking fonts for everyone.

Times (New) Roman
and its part in the Development of Scalable Font Technology
An About Desktop Publishing History of Typography link

Favorite Fonts
The top 5 font favorites the week of Christmas were:
Exmouth -- Handwriting/Script
CommScript -- Handwriting/Script
Loki Cola -- Handwriting/Script
4YEO Stamp -- Decorative/Stencils
Funny Faces JL -- Dingbats/People & Faces
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.