Group test: Font Editors
- Article 8 of 9
- Computer Arts, July 2006
You can make or break just about any design with your choice of typeface. Pick the right one and even an ordinary layout will become better; pick the wrong one and you can ruin the best design you’ve ever done. But what if the typeface you want doesn’t exist yet? Or your client wants its own unique look that no one else could possibly have? You have to make your own, of course.
The font creation tools we review this issue have all earned their places in typographers’ toolkits. FontLab’s Studio is the de facto standard for serious font creation, but comes at a top-end price. Fontographer, also from FontLab, was the standard for the best part of a decade, before spending the next ten years in purgatory at Macromedia. But it’s back now and many old hands are glad to have what they argue is the easiest and perhaps most powerful tool is here once again. High-Logic’s FontCreator may not have the profile of FontLab’s programs, but for Windows-based typographers, it has most of the necessary features at a fraction of its rivals’ prices. And George Williams’ FontForge has a dazzling range of features on a multitude of platforms, all for free.
Which one is the best one for your needs and wallet? Read on to find out.