There are many different font formats, but most common are the following formats:
OTF (OpenType), TTF (TrueType), SVG, EOT (Embedded Open Type),
WOFF (Web Open Font Format), WOFF2.
Fonts can be confusing since there are so many different font types.
How can you decide which format you should use?
Well, the first step is understanding the different types of fonts.
POSTSCRIPT
PostScript fonts were created by Adobe. They have two different parts, one that contains information for printing, and the other that’s used to display the font on the screen. PostScript fonts make it possible for really high-quality printing. A drawback to them is that they’re not cross compatible, so there are different versions for Macs and PCs. PostScript fonts are also often referred to as Type 1 Fonts. Since the creating of OpenType fonts, the use of PostScript fonts has dwindled significantly.
TRUETYPE (.TTF)
TrueType is a font format that was developed by Apple and was eventually licensed to Microsoft. They only require one file, but a separate file needs to be added for each instance of the font. Which means you’ll need a different file for normal, italic, bold, bold italic, etc. TrueType typefaces are usually used in a business office since they can be a little unreliable for publishing. TrueType fonts work well with Microsoft
Office. For a while TrueType fonts worked really well with PostScript fonts, meaning that the TrueType fonts would be used for screens, and PostScript for printing purposes.
OPENTYPE (.OTF)
OpenType is a newer font type built on the TrueType format that supports more advanced typesetting features like smallcaps, ligatures, and alternatives inside the font instead of separately. It was intened it repalce TrueType fonts. OpenType fonts were initially created by Adobe and Microsoft and uses the Unicode standard for character encoding. A great thing about OpenType fonts is that they’re compatible cross-platform, so it’s easier to share files to different operating systems. These types of font files contain all the outline, metric, and bitmap data for the font in one file, which is a great time saving featured. Sometimes OpenType fonts end in .otf but, confusingly, they can also end in .ttf. These fonts are also well suited for desktop publishing software like InDesign since they’re compatible with print workflows.
WEB OPEN FONT FORMAT (.WOFF)
Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is a font format that’s used on web pages. It works just like TrueType and OpenType, but since it’s compressed it’ll make your content download more quickly. Currently all browsers support WOFF. Often font vendors don’t want to license their TrueType or OpenType format fonts for web use, but they’ll license WOFF. A webfont is created in such a way that it’s possible to use the CSS @fontface declaration. A webfont, however is a font that includeds the WOFF file, asw well as a TrueType files, SVG file, and EOT file. The different files are necessary for cross-browser compatibility. Hopefully by now you’re understanding the different font formats and you’ll certainly be able to find the right format for you and your current project!
OTF VS TTF? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
- TTF stands for TrueType Font
- The fonts with a .ttf file extension are relatively older than OTF.
- OTF stands for OpenType/CFF Font
- Fonts with the .otf file extension are based in part on the TrueType standard.
- Even though these two font types have a lot in common, they are primarily distinguished by their different outline formats. The character outlines (see the figure below) in OT/CFF fonts are made of cubic Bézier paths whereas in TT fonts they’re made of quadratic Béziers.
- In plain English, this means that if you are a graphic designer, you will choose the OTF type because it gives you a lot more freedom to manipulate each and every character (by using specialized software like Adobe Illustrator).