How to Buy More Fonts for Illustrator
Before the days of computer printing, typefaces were very expensive. Type foundries, companies that created fonts and sold them to printers, were established around the world. Recently, however, computers have become the primary tool for visual design. Type foundries still exist to create fonts and market them via the Internet. Although you can find thousands of free fonts online, you have to buy the high-quality fonts. Good fonts can be used in all graphic design programs, including Adobe Illustrator.
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Instructions
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Find a good type foundry online. There are many sites that sell fonts, but many of them market fonts of low quality and craftsmanship. However, there are also many reputable foundries whose typefaces are used by well-known designers and typographers. Hoefler & Frere-Jones and Typotheque are examples of respected type foundries. You can also read typography blogs such as ILoveTypography to find information on new and old fonts and foundries.
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Browse their font selection until you find the ones that you like. Most sites have options to browse by font kind (e.g. serif, sans serif, slab serif), weight and style (e.g. light, bold, wide, condensed) or use (e.g. text, display, titling). A good typeface will offer many weights and styles. For example, Archer can be bought in hairline, extra light, bold, italic, light italic and many more variants. You can buy fonts singly or in packages.
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Checkout from the site to buy the fonts. Most sites use a shopping cart system, and you can pay using a credit card. Since the type foundries exist to sell fonts, they make the checkout process easy. Unfortunately, quality fonts cost quite a bit of money, but you can use them in projects for decades after your purchase. After paying, you can download the fonts that you purchased.
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Install your fonts on your computer. For a Macintosh computer, open the font file by double-clicking. A window will pop up displaying the font. Click the "Install Font" button in the lower right corner of the window, and the font will be installed. For a PC, you must place the font file in the Fonts folder. The Fonts folder can be found in "My Computer," "Local Disk (C:)," "WINDOWS," "Fonts." Once you have installed your fonts, open Adobe Illustrator and look through your font menu. You should find the fonts that you purchased, and you can use them in future projects.
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Tips & Warnings
You can find some quality fonts for free as well. Design blogs often post lists of quality free fonts.
A full font package, including all of its weights and styles, can cost up to $500. You may want to buy only 1 or 2 weights.
References
- Adobe Illustrator CS4 Classroom In A Book; Adobe Press; 2009
- Joseph Alessio; Graphic Designer; Detroit, Michigan
