The font snob loses a round

[DPRK]

@Hilarity_N.Suze

Now that FontForge thing is interesting. I might be able to use that for this instance, because the previous cover is in a PDF file as well as being in an InDesign file. Hm…

But I might be working above my level here, because as I said, I don’t even know how some of those fonts I was using got into InDesign in the first place. They were somehow attached to WordPerfect–which I haven’t used in five or six years–and I don’t know how they transferred from there into InDesign, like, is there some central place where ALL fonts are stored?

I have searched for files by name on my new computer, and they aren’t there. But I know that some of them had weird names. I would see one name when I went into the font manager program (a WP thing) and another when I went to the directory itself.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with InDesign. But, we know the fonts have to be somewhere, so try searching your entire drive by extension: .ttf, .otf, .pfa, .pfb

[DPRK]

@friedo

Does that mean a vector typeface can never be a font? Because they’re all vector typefaces now but the silly puters still call them fonts.

You could call them digital fonts or founts, but it is pretty clear that on a computer they are not made of lead.

A single typeface may come as more than one font file, to cover a large number of characters, or provide different sizes and bodies.

[BigT]

Bitstream Vera Sans is a free font, so I’m surprised you’re having trouble finding it. Here’s the official site, and here’s the download page. Download the file ending in .zip, as it will be the easiest to open.

I also do not have trouble finding fonts that at least purport to be Ottawa and Univers, by googling ____ font free . For Ottawa, my top result even shows all the glyphs, so you can check to see if it is the right font. (I also note no indication that Ottawa is for sale anywhere, nor even what license it is. It may be abandoned.)

I also see a place to purchase individual fonts for Univers, which includes a “try for free” option, which I believe will let you type what you want into an image, to see how it looks. Each variation is $35.

Edit: Seeing as the site I mention for the Ottawa font has a proper DMCA takedown policy, I’m going to go ahead and link it. I’m assuming this is similar to the rules for YouTube, where it’s up to the linked site to handle copyvios.

[BigT]

@friedo

Does that mean a vector typeface can never be a font? Because they’re all vector typefaces now but the silly puters still call them fonts.

No, it just technically is only a font when rendered. But it’s still a “font file,” since it is a file that can be used to generate a font.

[BigT]

Ooh! My link about Univers also has a program where you can get thousands of fonts for free, for only $10 a month. And the first month is free.

[DPRK]

@Hilarity_N.Suze

I know I had an Adobe CD full of typestyles and images and I still have that, but Univers isn’t on it. Neither is Deepdene, which I think of as one of my favorites even though I believe I only ever used the italic font of it for the occasional drop cap. I just figured, if the type is available on my computer I can use it.

Oh, and I actually know that technically Garamond is the typeface and 12 point Garamond italic is the font. But everybody I know pretty much uses the terms interchangeably and since with modern methods we can make them any size, almost any weight, and even tilt them for italic (obviously not true italic which is obvious with the serifs), it hardly matters any more.

What is driving me crazy is that of the typefaces I have left–and there are hundreds–most of the ones I most commonly used are gone. There are some new ones. I lost Tiffany, but I now have something called Elephant. I lost Bauer Bodoni, but I have some other kind of Bodoni.

And no Dove. That is a nice typeface. Interesting story, too. Well, I never had that one, and I guess neither did anybody else.

BTW I have found two of them by typing them into Google. Univers, I can only find it free in bold. I haven’t found Bitstream Vera Sans. I’m betting that and the missing Ottawa font came from back in the days when I used WordPerfect and they’re probably out there somewhere. But I still have the Corel installation discs and I’ll bet they’re on there, too. I just have no idea where.

Univers Std is in the Adobe Font Folio 11.1, if you have that. So are Bauer Bodoni and Tiffany.

ETA if you search for the files by extension on the old computer, as explained above, you should be able to find out where your old fonts were hiding and copy over the ones you need.

[DPRK]

@Hilarity_N.Suze

And no Dove. That is a nice typeface. Interesting story, too. Well, I never had that one, and I guess neither did anybody else.

Hm? You can buy it, though it’s £40 if you get it directly from their web site.

[jaycat]

@Darren_Garrison

A typeface is Georgia. A font is Georgia 10 point bold. This distinction matted when typefaces were purchased as boxes full of metal slugs. The distinction has disappeared to all but the most dedicated pedants in the digital age.

Hmmm… I worked as a typesetter for 25 years, including at the Wall Street Journal. We would have said the font was Georgia Bold, and the type size was 10 point…

[Darren_Garrison]

@jaycat

Hmmm… I worked as a typesetter for 25 years, including at the Wall Street Journal. We would have said the font was Georgia Bold, and the type size was 10 point…

Not to pit your real-world experience against Wikipedia, but their first lines on the entry for font are:

In metal typesetting, a font was a particular size, weight and style of a typeface.