Embedding Required
All fonts must be embedded, with no subsetting if possible or converted to outlines.
Use bold and italic fonts instead of bold and italic settings
Some fonts come bundled with bold and italic variations which are specially created by the font designer to give the most accurate representation of the fonts’ intended style. It is always a good idea to use the bold or italic version of a font whenever it is available instead of relying on your design software to create the bold or italic effect. This ensures the greatest degree of accuracy in the final printed product and helps to prevent any distortion that might occur when altering a font using bold or italic settings.
Leading levels
In typography, leading refers to the space between lines of written text. For maximum readability, you should set your leading to 120% of the font size. This setting provides a greater level of clarity than single spaced leading, but doesn’t take up as much design area as double spacing does.
Tracking and Kerning
When referring to typography, kerning is the space between two specific letters (for example, the distance between the W and the H in “when” at the beginning of this sentence). This is not to be confused with tracking, a measure of the space applied equally between all of the letters in a piece of text.
Four Main Font Types:
Serif Fonts: You can recognize Serif fonts by the small extra stroke called a serif that appears on their letterforms. The additional stroke is a decorative touch that can give serif fonts a traditional and elegant look. Historically, serif fonts are associated with better readability, so they have been a mainstay of book and newspaper printing.
San Serif Fonts: These lack the extra strokes that characterize serif fonts. Since they do not have extra flourishes, they can convey a more modern, clean and minimalist appearance. Sans serif fonts are popular with brands because they are usually easier to read on screens and because they have a simpler design than serif fonts.
Script Fonts: These fonts resemble handwriting, which can portray elegance and prestige. The downside to Script fonts is that they are often less legible.
Display Fonts: These are known as decorative fonts and are the most diverse category of fonts. These are most often used in large-format displays, like billboards, posters and headlines. These are intended to make an impact. Display Fonts can often be serif, sans serif or script. butThey are used to present a fun, quirky or casual look.
When to use serif fonts
Serif fonts contain extra flourishes at the ends of the letters to create an embellished, unified look much like the typesetting found on an old-fashioned typewriter. Fonts with serifs are especially useful for print, as they are more readable and allow the eye to tell the difference between letters when they’re close together. This makes them especially helpful when you have to deliver a large amount of text.
Serif fonts create a visual guideline for the eye to follow, making large paragraphs easy to read and scan.
When to use sans serif fonts
Sans serif fonts forego the extra flourishes to create a simple, dynamic look. They’re typically used as headlines because they catch the eye and create a natural contrast to the body text.
Sans serif typography can tire the eye more easily, so it’s not recommended for large bodies of text.
Fonts for foil stamping and embossing
Foil stamping works best with thick fonts that have no small details.
Due to the nature of foil stamping and embossing, you’ll want to avoid serif fonts, thin lines, or decorative typography, as these designs often won’t reproduce as intended.
Font Formats
TrueType® Fonts
TrueType fonts were designed to eliminate the need for multiple files. They incorporate all three files from the PostScript fonts into one file. They come pre-installed in both MAC and Windows operating systems. They can be scaled to any size and are equally readable at all sizes.
OpenType® Fonts
OpenType was built on TrueType and also contains, in one file, all the information necessary to render fonts correctly both on screen and in print. Its main benefit is that it is cross-platform. The same file will work on both Windows and Macintosh systems. OpenType fonts with the .otf extension contain PostScript information while those with the .ttf extension are TrueType-based.