Fonts can be a royal pain. They get
corrupted, they donŐt look right, they arenŐt on the disk, they canŐt
be found, there are too many of them, they are in bits and pieces,
they arenŐt PostScript or they just donŐt work. They suck up memory,
everyone uses different ones and if you design for multiple clients,
each one probably has a Ňfont packÓ that goes with their corporate
identity so you have dozens if not thousands of fonts on your hard
drive. But there is hope.
Font
Management Software
If you donŐt know what font management software is, you should. Font
management utilities like Adobe Type Manager Deluxe (www.adobe.com)
and Extensis Suitcase 8 (www.extensis.com)
are popular programs that will help you organize your fonts. If you
only use three or four typefaces, then a font management utility may
not be for you. But, if you have multiple clients, or have to install
fonts for projects, your computer should have a font management utility.
ATM Deluxe (not to be confused with the free ATM) is available for
both Mac and Windows. Suitcase is available for Macs but Extensis
has announced a forthcoming Windows version. Other utilities available
for the Mac include DiamondSoftŐs Font Reserve (www.fontreserve.com)
and Alsoft Master Juggler Pro (www.alsoft.com).
Font management utilities allow you to add and delete fonts. You can
add them individually or in a set. Each utility offers different features
which can include font corruption checking and testing, font id conflict
resolution, font sample page generation and temporary enabling of
fonts. By keeping your fonts organized by client or print job, you
can easily turn them on and off. This reduces problems like duplicate
fonts, PostScript and TrueType conflicts and running out of memory
because you have a massive amount of fonts active.
Font Collection Utilities
PostScript fonts come in two parts, and even the most experienced
designers can forget to include all the elements. Instead of hunting
around for the font MetaPlusBoldCapsItalic 10 and the companion printer
font MetaPluBolCapIta to put on the disk with your print job, you
could use a font collection utility that will do it automatically
and correctly every time. There are more than a few utilities available
including plug-ins, XTensions for Quark and programs like Extensis
Collect Pro. But, preflight utilities that also have font collection
offer more features and can help troubleshoot problem files. Extensis
Preflight Pro is available for Macs and Markzware Flightcheck www.markzware.com
is available for both Mac and Windows.
Winter
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