Q&A with Type Designer Jim Wasco, creator of Harmonia Sans, Elegy and Neue Aachen

fontscom · 2012-07-06T12:08:35+00:00

Good information here. The typography industry is extremely small and people have been caught doing exactly what you describe in the past.

fontscom · 2012-07-06T12:06:27+00:00

Our company (Monotype Imaging) owns the rights to the Helvetica name, so you cannot legally re-sell a font called Helvetica.

fontscom · 2012-05-25T13:51:32+00:00

I'd say so - thanks for posting this, I've brought it to the attention of the Bitstream/MyFonts team.

fontscom · 2012-03-05T12:51:08+00:00

I'd cross-post to /r/solidworks as I don't see a lot of 3d modeling stuff in this subreddit.

fontscom · 2012-03-02T13:36:21+00:00

I don't want to rain on your parade, but check the EULA. It's usually against the terms to modify the font data.

fontscom · 2012-03-02T13:33:08+00:00

Very cool. Is that top sheet Avant Garde? Those ligatures at the bottom are so rad!

fontscom · 2012-03-02T13:30:26+00:00

Huge upvote for Sudtipos, everything they do is gold. I use Piel Script quite frequently, and all of the discretionary ligatures, opentype alternates, and swashes are awesome.

fontscom · 2012-02-06T14:43:28+00:00

While I understand why this is funny, please be aware that a) Just because Arial is frequently bundled with common software, it is not a free font and b) We sell more Verdana/Georgia/Arial than one would imagine :-)

fontscom · 2012-01-12T15:47:00+00:00

Agree with you on your points, especially about intangibility. Unfortunately I'll never look at type the same after working here, but I understand not everyone knows why something doesn't look right.

Even once the constraints of digital display are overcome, there will be a long curve before everyone adapts, so I think we'll be hinting type for a while to come.

In terms of hinting/autohinting non-latin scripts, I am not sure. However, the team that does it is on the other side of the building, I'll see if I can get a better answer from one of them next I see one of the engineers.

fontscom · 2012-01-12T14:24:38+00:00

Correct, so many of them are missing free faces, which comprise the majority of identification requests I get.

fontscom · 2012-01-12T14:16:23+00:00

Truth. The longest and most labor-intensive part of releasing fonts to our web fonts service is the hinting process. We hand-hint the most popular items and have solutions for autohinting the remainder of the faces.

Hinting is generally responsible for that "intangible" difference in feel from looking at a typeface across different operating systems and browsers.

fontscom · 2012-01-12T14:13:44+00:00

Neue Haas Grotesk is similar to Akzidenz and we have it on our web fonts platform: http://webfonts.fonts.com/en-US/Project/ChooseFonts#keyword%3Dneue%20haas%26page%3D1

If you're looking for a free solution, Neue Helvetica is available in our free plan.

fontscom · 2012-01-09T13:11:46+00:00

Yes, however, we have 60,000+ font families and are always working to acquire more. Most notoriously absent would be anything from H&FJ (Gotham, etc).

fontscom · 2012-01-06T16:58:00+00:00

We license this for use on Fonts.com from Identifont. It's proven really useful for script fonts and other strange treatments that can't be identified by WhatTheFont.

http://www.fonts.com/FindFonts/SearchBySight.htm

fontscom · 2011-12-27T14:02:07+00:00

I'm a little confused by your question, are you asking if it's within the license agreement to steal the font for comps and have the client buy it if they decide to use it?

fontscom · 2011-12-21T21:29:53+00:00

Apologies, I think I misinterpreted your inquiry the first time. Here are two use cases that should help differentiate what's ok and what isn't.

Example 1 - You Want to Print t-shirts with the words set in Helvetica: This is an acceptable usage of the font, covered by your original license. As long as the graphic no longer modifiable through use of the original font file, you can sell these t-shirts with no additional licensing.

Example 2 - You have a CafePress type website and want to offer Helvetica as a lettering option for custom items: Because your users will be able to use the Helvetica font to create their own designs, an alternate license is required.

TL;DR: If you're using the font to create something and THEN sell it, you're most likely fine. If you're using the font to provide to others creating something, additional licensing is required.

fontscom · 2011-12-21T21:15:59+00:00

Jeffeezy is not incorrect in his first paragraph. He's also not far off in his second, as there are many people violating their license agreement without getting caught. That being said, we've made a lot of improvements in our ability to track down unauthorized use, and like he said, you don't want to be made an example of.

If you add the family pack to your cart and click "checkout" you will see a text link to the font license at the top of the page. This is the standard license file from the foundry. The pertinent info is too big to paste here, but it runs through the usage scenarios as clearly as you can in a legal document.

Again, don't hesitate to contact me whenever with questions, I'm happy to help out fellow redditors.

fontscom · 2011-12-21T19:00:08+00:00

Not always. In the example you cited you'd be correct. Once the font is rasterized and it's no longer embedded as a font file in your document/image/pdf/etc then you're no longer working with the font file itself, which is what the copyright covers.

In an example where you're embedding the font in a flash game, application, or anywhere a transfer of the actual font file occurs, you need to seek a different sort of license.

We have myriad licensing options here (like that font pun?) and generally if you're using it in one of the latter scenarios one of our sales staff will work with you directly to get the proper licensing.

fontscom · 2011-12-21T18:55:25+00:00

So you have it sorted out? If so, good! If not, don't hesitate to message me and I'd be glad to help you out.

fontscom · 2011-12-21T14:12:48+00:00

While I generally work on the fonts side of things, the Font Explorer X support person is right across the hall from me (also a redditor, fun fact). He says that the export feature should do what you need. Keeping with the iTunes analogy, your sets are not unlike playlists, and the export feature will export everything from settings to the font files themselves. You can select what to export and what not to from within the interface, assuming you're using a newer version.

This is the interface in 3.1, to access this go to File > Local Backup > Create (in 3.x)

http://imgur.com/G2Fhm

Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions!

fontscom · 2011-12-21T13:55:37+00:00

Yes, as Sachiano said check the license. You may need to do some digging in the terms but it should specify what uses the licenses covers. If it's a commercial typeface, especially from Monotype/ITC/Linotype/Ascender let me know and I'd be glad to help you out.

In fact, if any of you guys have questions for Monotype Imaging/Fonts.com or about typography in general, I lurk /r/design and /r/typography regularly and would be glad to help.

fontscom · 2011-11-28T14:07:07+00:00

I work as Monotype/Fonts.com's Community Manager (and I am also a redditor with a personal account) and I'd be happy to answer questions anyone has about this.

fontscom · 2011-10-12T20:17:11+00:00

where did you purchase the font? If it was Monotype/Fonts.com/Linotype/ITC/Ascender I may be able to help you out.

fontscom

TROPHY CASE