Searching for fonts on FontShop can be daunting, but we’ve added a few things to our site to help you find the perfect font for your needs. We’ll go over these tools in the upcoming weeks and we’ll start with Fonts Like This.
Located on every product page, Fonts Like This will help you find similar fonts to a specific typeface. It makes finding Helvetica alternatives, or in this case Estilo, easy. Try it today and discover what you’ve been missing!
In the past you only had to worry about basic desktop licenses, webfont choices were limited to system fonts, and designing for mobile apps wasn’t a priority. Now you have to worry about supporting all three: desktop, web, and mobile.
But don’t worry, FontShop has got you covered!
You can purchase a basic desktop license that allows a font to live on your computer. The software is installed on your system so that you can use the font in various programs, but this license doesn’t include support for web or mobile.
Webfont licenses allow fonts to live on your site using the CSS @font-face rule. Take a look at how we label our webfont products and view our webfont license guide for primers on finding and purchasing webfonts.
Finally, mobile licenses allow a developer to include Mobile FontFonts into multiple apps, the license is perpetual, and they have web and desktop counterparts.
If you can’t find the license you are looking for, FontShop’s support is always here to help.
A Multi-User license, MUL for short, is purchased when you need to license a font to support additional users above the basic license. To obtain the cost of an MUL, just add the product to your cart and change the number of user based on your needs. Your MUL will also support multiple geographic locations, extending the single location terms found in most EULAs.
If you have a basic license and you need to extend it to support additional users, or multiple locations, then contact FontShop. We’ll need to know your previous order number and how many users you would like to support in order to give you a quote. We can also extend web licenses, provide quotes for Mobile FontFonts, and answer additional questions you have through our help desk.
When you license a font you want to make sure that you pay attention to what your needs are and how to support those needs by purchasing the correct license. We previously went over how webfonts are licensed, but here’s a refresher in how desktop licensing works.
A basic license is the initial cost to license a font. The End User License Agreement, EULA for short, are the terms that you agree to when you license the font. Each foundry has their own EULA and because we have over 100+ foundries, we’ve added a shortcut to every font’s license at the bottom of their product page.
Most desktop EULAs will support up to 5 concurrent users at a single geographic location. But if you need to support more users or additional locations than the EULA allows, you can always extend your license by purchasing an Multi-User license. We’ll go over MULs and extending your basic license next week.
Did you know that OpenType comes in two flavors? PostScript-flavored OpenType fonts have .otf endings and TrueType-flavored OpenType fonts have .ttf endings. Both flavors are cross-platform and can be installed on either a Mac or PC.
TrueType-flavored OpenType fonts will have an OT/TT badge and are optimal for programs— such as PowerPoint and Excel— that do not fully support all OpenType features.
While PostScript-flavored OpenType fonts will have an OT badge and works best in programs—like Adobe InDesign —that can support all OpenType features.
So if you are working with a client that uses MS Word and you recommend that they license an OpenType version of the font, please make sure that you let them know which flavor is best. We have a great post on FontFont’s OpenType formats you should read if you’re eager for an in-depth explanation that uses FF DIN as example.
Webfont licenses allow your font to live on your website using the CSS @font-face rule and come in two formats; EOT and WOFF.
Internet Explorer uses EOT, Embedded OpenType, to render webfonts and it has been supported since version 4.0. While WOFF, Web Open Font Format, is supported by multiple browsers — and it is currently in the process of being standardized upon the recommendation of the W3C.
If you are new to webfonts then take a peek at FontShop’s Designers Guide to Webfonts, available on our education page. It’s great introduction and while you’re there you can brush up on your typography skills.
We also recommend downloading FontFont’s webfont user guide, available here, for more in-depth reading aimed at web developers and system administrators.
When you license a webfont on FontShop you obtain the right to self-host the font on your site so that visitors can view your page in a specific typeface.
A webfont license is based on the number of pageviews per month for all websites, including sub-domains, for an organization. You pay a one time fee, not a monthly or yearly fee, until the pageview rate changes. Once the pageview rate changes, you can contact FontShop to extend support for your website. If you are creating content for a client’s website then the client, not you, must license the webfont.
Catch up on our previous Buyer’s Guide to get the full scoop on webfonts here! Next week, we’ll explain what EOT/WOFF are and how to use them in your code to self-host your webfonts.
Did you download the FontShop Plugin yet? Well here are some tips to help you use it in Adobe Photoshop CS5. I’ll go over two features to assist you in finding similar fonts and how you can use tags to help you compare typefaces in a single document.
First choose a typeface, for this example I’ve picked FF Tisa OT Bold Italic. Then click on the find similar icon which is highlighted in the image below. 
You should get a list of similar fonts.
Add tags to the typefaces that you want to try out. If you want to string a few words together then use an underscore instead of spaces like in my example. 
I know it’s hard to choose just one, but tagging multiples is as easy as clicking a few buttons.
Now you have a mini collection of similar fonts tagged in your Favorites section.
Once you’re ready to use the fonts then you can click on the tag and you’ll see a list that you can use to create multiple preview layers within a single document.
Please note that every time you create a preview, the visible text layer is turned off. So just turn on the text layer you want on to create a new preview layer. All preview layers are labeled with the name of the typeface that is being rendered.
Wasn’t that super easy? This plugin is amazing!
You’ve heard about Web FontFonts, but if you’re still not sure what they are and how to use them then don’t fret. FontShop created a guide to get you up to date on what webfonts are and how to use Web FontFonts. Just go to our education page to view the guide online and if you need to brush up on your typography then we have guides for that too.
You can also download the PDF here.
FontFonter is free tool that lets you try Web FontFonts on any website. It was introduced almost two years ago and continues to be one of the easiest ways to comp an existing site with Web FontFonts. Just go to FontFont.com, type in a website, and FontFont It! Here are more tips and examples to help you out.
FontFont Subsetter is free tool that allows you to optimize your licensed Web FontFonts by stripping out glyphs and data that you don’t need. All you have to do is upload your licensed Web FontFont on Subsetter, choose how you want to customize it, then download your new web font. In three easy steps you’ll have leaner file that will help make your website faster, while optimizing bandwidth usage, and reducing high-traffic cost. Try it today!
FontShop makes hosting Web FontFonts on Typekit easy.
When you purchase a license from FontShop for a Web FontFont you can self host the typeface, or you can take advantage of our partnership with Typekit. It’s just a simple click on the link we provide on your check out confirmation page. If you don’t have a Typekit account, then you can set up a plan that’s right for you. Please note that only Web FontFonts can be hosted on Typekit from FontShop.
FontShop sells three different types of licenses: Desktop, Web, and Mobile. Here are some tips to help you with your Web FontFont purchase.
A license for a Web FontFont is based on the number of pageviews a single website has in a month, lets call them “pvm” for short. Once you place a web font into your cart, you can choose to purchase a license from three tiers: 500,000 pvm, 5 million pvm, or 50 million pvm. Please note that you can always extend your license to support additional pvm or request for a quote if you need to support more than 50 million pvm by contacting us.
Web FontFonts are licensed by the average pageviews per month of all the domains within the licensing organization.
All Web FontFonts come with three font files: Comp, EOT, and WOFF. The Comp file is an TrueType-flavored OpenType font that can only be used in the design phase of website. A separate license is needed if you need to use the Comp files for any other purpose and the use of Comp files within a website is prohibited.
You can find all the web fonts we sell here and all FontFont’s EULAs here. Here are FAQ regarding web fonts.
I’m back to offer some tips for you in 2012! My previous post went over the different sites FontShop is connected with, but did you know where all the FontShop offices live? No? Well, let’s clear that up right now.
There are four main FontShop offices and if you need help with anything you can contact your local FontShop for support.
FontShop AG – Supports all customers in Germany.
email: Info@FontShop.de
twitter: @Fontblog
FontShop BeNeLux – Supports all customers in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
email: Info@FontShop.be
twitter: @FontShopBeNeLux
FontShop Austria – Supports all customers in Austria.
email: Office@FontShop.at
FontShop San Francisco – Supports all North and South America, plus the rest of the world.
email: Info@FontShop.com
twitter: @FontShop
You can also give us a call!
You may be familiar with FontShop, but do you know about all the other sites that we’re connected with? If not, then here’s a brief introduction to them.
The FontFeed is a daily dispatch of recommended fonts, typography techniques, and inspirational examples of digital type at work in the real world. Eat up.
FontFont, our foundry, is the world’s largest library of original contemporary typefaces, such as FF DIN and FF Meta.
FontFonter is a web tool that allows you to render Web FontFonts on any website. Basically allowing you to test out a webfont on your site instantly, which is perfect when you want to show your client what their site could look like in a different typeface.
Subsetter is another great tool that helps you decrease the size of a Web FontFont. In three easy steps, you can optimize your Web FontFont at no cost to you. Read more here.
The latest addition is Mobile FontFonts and if you’re building an iOS App then you should start by checking these faces out.
Also, TYPO San Francisco will take place at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), April 5-6, 2012 centering around the theme Connect. So head on over to TYPO Talks for a taste of what to expect.
