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Typefaces are collections of letterforms and glyphs, each designed with their own characteristics or style. They are the essence of communication. Without them you would not be able to read this article! A font is the software that describes the letterforms and glyphs in a typeface. Before the digital age, fonts were made from lead, each character being a separate piece. Today, fonts are software. They can be loaded onto our computer as part of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system, in applications such as Adobe® Illustrator® software, or licensed from type designers and font foundries. We use fonts every day - recognise the Arial® or Times New Roman® designs? Why are there so many typefaces? Different typefaces are designed for different uses - such as headlines, body text or very small classified ads. Typefaces are designed to give choice and flexibility in the design of documents and publications. Today, there are thousands of faces to choose from. You could say that a typeface is a fashion item - think how mundane life would be if every item that we read looked the same. Different typefaces afford individuality and create identity and recognition. When we choose a font of a new typeface, we need to obtain a new licence to use it. Why do fonts warrant a licence? The current method of designing and reproducing typefaces is digital - computer-based. The finished product is a unique piece of software with its own intellectual value. The art of designing a typeface is a complex and highly skilled discipline. The process incorporates design know-how, painstaking precision and attention to detail. In many cases, even with all the digital tools that we have today, it may take years to produce a new typeface. Like any software, digital fonts are intellectual property and are subject to copyright and trademark laws.
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Fonts are owned by foundries or independent typeface designers. Most foundries license fonts for use on a set number of workstations and printers. For example, Monotype Imaging’s standard End User Licence Agreement (EULA) licenses a single font for use on five workstations and storage on one printer. Collections of fonts can be purchased more competitively as libraries. Monotype Imaging licenses these for 20 workstations and two printers. Licensing standards of each foundry may vary on the number of workstations and printers. The general rule is not to allow the distribution of fonts beyond the set number of workstations without an additional licence. Font embedding is the ability to include font data within a document, providing control over the appearance of text that the reader sees. Whatever software you use to create a document, maintaining formatting when sharing files with users on different computers can be a headache. Fortunately, for document creators and Web designers, new techniques such as font embedding, font streaming and dynamic fonts bring increased typographic flexibility. Now it’s possible for designers to ensure that end users see their Web site in the desired font, ensuring consistency with a design theme or a corporate brand. Embedding fonts into any documents or Web sites that allow editing or altering requires an additional licence. Some licences such as the basic Monotype® font software EULA include the ability to embed fonts into documents to preview and print only. However, some EULAs do not provide this - so check your licence terms carefully. Also, embedding fonts into any documents sold commercially, such as e-books, e-magazines, e-reports, etc. requires an additional licence. Are some fonts already licensed? When you pay for your software application licence for products such as the Windows operating system, you license the core fonts that are included within that application for the number of users you have licensed that application for. Software publishers license fonts from foundries and pass on the royalty to the foundries from your licence fee. This does not give you the right to transfer fonts from that application to unlicensed users or to use those fonts outside the terms of the software licence you have. |
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