There are two primary font formats available to publishers today who use modern computerized processes: Type 1 (PostScript), developed by Adobe, and TrueType, first developed by Apple, then adopted by Microsoft.

In theory there are no inherent characteristics of either format that produce higher quality. In practice, however, it has been determined that Type 1 fonts always produce high-quality typography, whereas TrueType fonts are not as predictable. Indeed, some high-end print houses will disclaim all responsibility for the outcome of film they produce if TrueType fonts are in use: “Using TrueType fonts is strongly discouraged because they cause imagesetting delays and incur stripping charges, as files containing them can only be imageset as single pages. If you must use TrueType fonts, it is essential that you run a test at the plant before you begin working on the project to determine if your fonts will work” (Alan Barnett, “The Guide to Preparing Digital Files for Print Production for Courier Corporation,” Right from the Start, 1997).

Yet even with Type 1 fonts, there are still several pitfalls that require diligence to avoid. For example, many applications install fonts without notifying the user. If these fonts are left in your font folder and you use them it can cause problems later on if you send files to ICC or the printer. When ICC opens your files we will get a message that reads, for example, “Helvetica (TrueType) is missing, substituting Type 1..” If we don’t manually fix the font, it will usually print in Courier. This is a disconcerting situation, because it is not always possible to know the impact of font substitution for files we have not created ourselves.

Other applications that install fonts (on both Macintoshes and PC-compatible computers) are Microsoft Office and both Netscape and Internet Explorer Web browsers.

A rose by any other name may still smell as sweet, but there are many similar names of fonts that can give greatly different results. For example, there are variants to the readily available font called Times Roman, such as Times Ten, Times New Roman, Times Europa, and CG Times. If you had two pages side by side, each set with a variant, you would not be able to tell which was which, but you would be able to see a difference. This difference may only become apparent when you print your file, if you allow font substitution to take place. Check your page setup settings (both Mac and PC) and you’ll find settings that will allow font substitution. If you use a PostScript printer, it may substitute a Type 1 font on your output for any TrueType fonts in your application. You may not notice the difference at first, but it’s there and it just may show up somewhere in your 800-page book.

Another interesting wrinkle in font usage is rereleased fonts. Even Adobe (gasp!) makes mistakes. To rectify this, designers will release updated versions of their fonts from time to time. Most of the “mistakes” are so slight you would not be aware of them, but they still might cause text reflow. This is why printers insist that fonts used are sent along with files when a document goes to press. Your Times Roman may not be absolutely identical to our Times Roman.

Lastly, the fonts we use today are software. We buy fonts to use with our applications. We send our fonts to printers not just because they want them to print our documents, but because they have also purchased the same fonts, and therefore are legally entitled to use them. However, we cannot legally provide anyone else with these fonts; that would be a violation of the copyright law, or piracy. If we use a special font in a job, by law we cannot provide an author with this font, just because he or she needs it to update files at a later date.

ICC can work with you to find the fonts appropriate for your job, ones that will provide quality design and printing.