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 FontLab7 Web Workflow | |
| Stable release | 8.4.2.8950 [1] / 25 September 2024 |
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| Operating system | Windows, macOS |
| Website | fontlab |
FontLab is a font editor developed by Fontlab Ltd. FontLab is available for Windows and macOS.
The software was initially developed by the company SoftUnion Ltd. of Saint Petersburg, Russia, under lead programmer Yuri Yarmola. In 1992, Pyrus North America Ltd. was formed in the United States to distribute and market FontLab 2.0 for Microsoft Windows which released in 1993. Pyrus North America eventually bought all the rights to FontLab, hired Yarmola, then restructured as Fontlab Ltd., Inc. The company is distributed, but programming is still done primarily by a Russian team, partly in St. Petersburg, while the company is incorporated in Panama.[ citation needed ]
FontLab's first macOS product was FontLab 3 for Mac which released in 1998. FontLab Studio 5 was the first issued for both Mac and Windows. Although initially Windows versions always came first, the two versions have released simultaneously since the release of FontLab 6 (VI).
Additionally, FontLab has developed spinoff font editors for specific markets. TypeTool, a simplified version of FontLab Studio, is designed as a budget, entry-level typeface editor, which serves simple features for small projects. In the past, AsiaFont Studio (or Fontlab Composer) was a more sophisticated version of Fontlab, with features for editing Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts. These functions are now included in FontLab Studio since version 5.1. OpenType features for complex scripts like Arabic, Devanagari, and Thai are not directly supported but can be added through Microsoft’s Volt. [2]
FontLab also created a line of font creation and conversion utilities for its formerly decentralised font app system at the time[ citation needed ]. ScanFont, [3] a tool for converting scans and bitmaps of glyphs into vector glyphs, was part of FontLab 2, but in the next version, it was split off and became a stand-alone application. With the release of FontLab VI, the ScanFont functionality was again integrated into the main application.
Next came TransType, [4] a font converter for moving fonts between TrueType, OpenType, and Type 1 formats and between Macintosh and Windows platforms. A few shorter-lived and more specialized font converters followed: FONmaker, for converting vector fonts into bitmaps; FontFlasher, for converting “normal” vector fonts into pixelated vector fonts for low-resolution display in Flash apps; and FogLamp, for converting native Fontographer files into modern formats. (Newer versions of FontLab Studio, FontLab VI, and FontLab 7 can now open recent Fontographer files directly.)
Fontographer by Altsys, another independent font development tool, ceased development after its acquisition by Macromedia. During Macromedia's acquisition by Adobe Systems in 2005, Macromedia sold Fontographer's rights and code to FontLab Ltd.
Metafont is a description language used to define raster fonts. It is also the name of the interpreter that executes Metafont code, generating the bitmap fonts that can be embedded into e.g. PostScript. Metafont was devised by Donald Knuth as a companion to his TeX typesetting system.
OpenType is a format for scalable computer fonts. Derived from TrueType, it retains TrueType's basic structure but adds many intricate data structures for describing typographic behavior. OpenType is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Fontographer is a font editor for Windows and macOS; it is used to create digital fonts. It was originally developed by Altsys but is now owned by FontLab Ltd.
FontForge is a FOSS font editor which supports many common font formats. Developed primarily by George Williams until 2012, FontForge is free software and is distributed under a mix of the GNU General Public License Version 3 and the 3-clause BSD license. It is available for operating systems including Linux, Windows, and macOS, and is localized into 12 languages.
A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.
Andalé Mono is a monospaced sans-serif typeface designed by Steve Matteson for terminal emulation and software development environments, originally for the Taligent project by Apple Inc. and IBM. Andalé Mono has a sibling called Andalé Sans.
Consolas is a monospaced typeface designed by Luc(as) de Groot. It is a part of the ClearType Font Collection, a suite of fonts that take advantage of Microsoft's ClearType font rendering technology. It has been included with Windows since Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, and is available for download from Microsoft. It is the only standard Windows Vista font with a slash through the zero character. It is the default font for Microsoft Notepad as of Windows 8.
Geneva is a neo-grotesque or "industrial" sans-serif typeface designed by Susan Kare for Apple Computer. It is one of the oldest fonts shipped with Macintosh operating systems. The original version was a bitmap font, but later versions were converted to TrueType when that technology became available on the Macintosh platform. Because this Macintosh font is not commonly available on other platforms, many users find Verdana, Microsoft Sans Serif or Arial to be an acceptable substitute.
Altsys Corporation was a Texas-based software company founded by James R. Von Ehr II. It was an early Apple Macintosh developer and publisher.
High-Logic, founded in 1997 by Erwin Denissen, is a privately held company headquartered in De Bilt, the Netherlands. High-Logic produces font editing and font management software.
Apple's Macintosh computer supports a wide variety of fonts. This support was one of the features that initially distinguished it from other systems.
Microsoft Sans Serif is a sans-serif typeface introduced with early Microsoft Windows versions. It is the successor of MS Sans Serif, formerly Helv, a proportional bitmap font introduced in Windows 1.0. Both typefaces are very similar in design to Arial and Helvetica. The typeface was designed to match the MS Sans bitmap included in the early releases of Microsoft Windows.
PostScript fonts are font files encoded in outline font specifications developed by Adobe Systems for professional digital typesetting. This system uses PostScript file format to encode font information.
A font editor is a class of application software specifically designed to create or modify font files. Font editors differ greatly depending on if they are designed to edit bitmap fonts or outline fonts. Most modern font editors deal with the outline fonts. Bitmap fonts uses an older technology and are most commonly used in console applications. The bitmap font editors were usually very specialized, as each computing platform had its own font format. One subcategory of bitmap fonts is text mode fonts.
CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Alludo. It is also the name of the Corel graphics suite, which includes the bitmap-image editor Corel Photo-Paint as well as other graphics-related programs. It can serve as a digital painting platform, desktop publishing suite, and is commonly used for production art in signmaking, vinyl and laser cutting and engraving, print-on-demand and other industry processes. Reduced-feature Standard and Essentials versions are also offered.
This is a technical feature comparison of font editors.
The Unified Font Object (UFO) is an XML-based source file format for digital fonts. It was created by Tal Leming, Just van Rossum and Erik van Blokland. Contributors to the format also include Ben Kiel and Frederik Berlaen. According to its creators, the UFO is a "future proof" open format that is designed to be "application independent", "human readable and human editable".
Just van Rossum is a Dutch typeface designer, software developer, and professor at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague. He is the co-founder of design firm, LettError, along with Erik van Blokland. Just van Rossum is the younger brother of Guido van Rossum, creator of the Python programming language.
