On a whim, I bought a copy of Your Handwriting 2.0, a font creation package from Data Becker. I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. Aimed at non-designers, the program turns anyone's handwriting into a Windows TrueType font. Use your font to personalize letters, cards, and other printed projects.

Using your printer (to print required forms), a flatbed scanner, and the software, it's easy to create a basic font in just a few minutes. Spend a bit more time on the process and you can turn out even better fonts. The first, and fastest option, uses just a few sample characters to create a font that simulates your handwriting. It's fast, it's easy, but I like the custom option better because it allows for even more personalization of the font.

After printing out the required forms, simply write each character in a square on the form. Scan the form using Your Handwriting Assistant, then make as few or as many adjustments as you want until the font is just the way you want it. If a few letters don't scan well, no need to start over. Another special form lets you rewrite and scan just the characters you need and add them to your font.

You can adjust the weight, width, spacing, and shape of individual characters. Unfortunately, you can't make global adjustments once you've begun work in the Font Editor; but, for most users, this isn't a problem.

In addition to the font creation portion of the program, it includes a Mail Editor for composing email messages. It interfaces with your default email program to send your message in Word .doc format or as a .JPG attachment. I found it less than overwhelming but it works just as described in the manual.

The two fonts shown here are the first two fonts I created with this program. They don't have all the extended characters but you'll find a complete standard alphabet in upper and lower case, numbers, common symbols and punctuation. Like them? They're free for your use.

The manual recommends using a felt-tip marker to write the characters for scanning. I used a marker for one font and a soft charcoal art pencil for the other. A plain ball point pen is not recommended but you can experiment with various writing utensils to get a good scan and the look you want. I plan to try a cursive font and a dingbat font next.

While it can't compete with programs such as Fontographer, Your Handwriting 2.0 is an easy to use program that just might whet your appetite for more serious font design. At the very least, you can preserve your handwriting or that of your children for posterity. The interface is simple, the manual adequate, and the fonts it makes work with any program that can use Windows TrueType fonts.