fontografist

Since the latest release of the Adobe Creative Cloud, designers a plenty have rejoiced at the fact that, since the purchase of Typekit by Adobe, they can now take advantage of the font libraries available for use under the Typekit fonts license. Being able to use and package Typekit fonts on print files, fonts which were originally only available for websites, means you can now use the same fonts on print and online, and preserve branding consistency across mediums and platforms.

Of course, these same rejoicing designers consequently poop their pants when they realize they can’t collect the fonts for output, since these are subscribed to fonts as opposed to the downloaded files that we are all accustomed to. What do you do? There are several workarounds to using and distributing Typekit fonts in print files:

1. Create a PDF with fonts embedded.

This is the most reliable way to distribute not only fonts for reproduction, but also any file going to a printer. Creating the right kind of PDF is the most efficient way to distribute anything going to a printer, and not only ensures they don’t break your file, but it can also alleviate any issues that might arise from font conflicts and images.

2. Get a printer that subscribes to Typekit.

The fact is that distributing fonts under the standard EULA (which is most of Adobe’s collection), or most license agreements, forbid the distribution of fonts to any third party unless they already have the license to the same font. But in the real world, we still need to get our files printed, and we don’t have time for “legalities.” Unfortunately for us, Adobe and Typekit have figured out how to lock us out of sending the fonts, so packaging them is no longer an option. Thankfully, Typekit doesn’t cost a fortune. If they are in a pinch, they can always sign up for the free trial which allows for 20 fonts synced at a time. regular plans start at 24.99, which is a far cry from paying a fortune for a font that they are only going to use on one project.

3. Don’t use Typekit fonts on big files.

You could break all kinds of copyright and licensing laws and outline the fonts before sending to the printer, however, that seems impractical and I highly recommend against it, especially if you are working on multi-page files, and trying to stay out of getting sued.

4. Don’t use Typekit fonts at all.

But why? The truth is that they are constantly updating their library, with more and more foundries getting on board, adding some exciting new fonts every week, so the idea of NOT using them is dumb and limiting. The better option is to use them–the right way. That means getting the subscription that best fits your need, and actually start paying to use fonts.