# trying to identify font **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262 "2003-07-09T16:26:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/1 "2003-07-09T16:26:46Z")
I have looked at all the “font finders” and search engines until I’m cross-eyed. I’m trying to reproduce a friend’s company logo in vector format for him (all he’s got is an old ratty jpeg file right now), and am trying to find a font. Actually, the font I’ve identified - it’s nothing more than Times New Roman Italic…or it appears to be. The problem is that there is an ampersand in the “motto” text that is not the standard ‘&’ symbol. It is actually a fancier type, that kinda looks like an upper-case “G” or a “Q” rolled on its side with the tail pointing to the right and with an extra line going up at about 12 o’clock. Hopefully the description is clear. If someone can identify what this font is, or how I can get this character (and it has to match the Times New Roman Italic used in the rest of the logo…can’t look like it was just cut n pasted from another app. critter42 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/2 "2003-07-09T16:33:33Z")
Can you post a link to the logo so we can look at it? Meanwhile, it’s certainly not impossible that someone used an ampersand from a different typeface in the logo. Can your drawing program trace the scan/image and then you just set the text in Times and clean up the ampersand to use as a graphic item? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/3 "2003-07-09T16:43:26Z")
Sounds like it could be Palatino. Have a look at this page, it’s the bottom two of the four images. [http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/palatino-linotype/italic/win-ttf/113902/character/0026/CP2/](http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/palatino-linotype/italic/win-ttf/113902/character/0026/CP2/) Failing that, the [www.myfonts.com](http://www.myfonts.com) site is great for searching for similar fonts. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/4 "2003-07-09T16:45:46Z")
Difficult to tell from your description, but it sounds like it could be Palatino. Have a look at this page, it’s the bottom two of the four images. [http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/palatino-linotype/italic/win-ttf/113902/character/0026/CP2/](http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/palatino-linotype/italic/win-ttf/113902/character/0026/CP2/) Failing that, the [www.myfonts.com](http://www.myfonts.com) site is great for searching for similar fonts. Hmm… or have a look at this page: [http://www.adobe.com/type/topics/theampersand.html](http://www.adobe.com/type/topics/theampersand.html) Is it there? Garamond or one of the other similar ones might be what you are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/5 "2003-07-09T16:48:04Z")
Oops, didn’t cancel the first post in time ---
**Author:** ![critter42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@critter42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/critter42)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/6 "2003-07-09T17:41:15Z")
Nope that wasn’t it. However, I resolved the problem the old-fashioned way - I asked if he minded if I used the “standard” ampersand, and he said “go ahead” :). Problem solved. However, I still want to try to find this for future reference (and if it is found soon enough, go ahead and use it in his logo anyway 🙂 ). I don’t have a copy of the old logo here at work, but I’ll post it (well, at least the part in question) when I get home tonight. critter42 ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/7 "2003-07-09T17:50:23Z")
What would the legality have been of tracing the & in a your vector prog does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/8 "2003-07-09T18:02:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Iteki \* > \*\*What would the legality have been of tracing the & in a your vector prog does anyone know? \*\* What would legality have to do with it? It’s _his_ logo. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/9 "2003-07-09T18:10:18Z")
In terms of duplicating a font that he does not own? Presumably whoever made the logo to begin with owned the font that was used. It was apparantly sold as one format. If he now wanted to use the logo in different situations or with slight changes or whatever it might be relevant. An example, but not a very relevant one might be, me having a font installed on my puter, tracing the letters a friend wants and sending them to him/her as vectors. ---
**Author:** ![bcflyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@bcflyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcflyer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/10 "2003-07-09T19:17:05Z")
There’s actually a website called identifont that might help you. It asks you questions and tries to determine what font you are looking for. [http://www.identifont.com](http://www.identifont.com) ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-identify-font/187262/11 "2003-07-09T23:09:57Z")
It could be a pure vector art symbol, not a font at all. Many companies, mine included, use this so other folks can’t easily copy it.