Expert: LizaL - 1/27/2005

Question
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I FORGOT TO TELL U I'M USING A MAC(OS X). SORRY:(


Followup To
Question -
IF I PURCHASE VARIOUS FONTS,  IS IT EASY TO USE WITHIN PHOTOSHOP AND OTHER PROGRAMS? HOW CAN I MAKE SURE THIS FONS ARE INCLUDED IN MY FILE BEFORE I TAKE IT TO THE PRINTER? DO PRINTERS USUALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS. I ALWAYS BUG YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE SO QUALIFIED!:)  THANK YOU!

VIKI
Answer -
Hi Viki!

You're not bugging me! But I don't know about this "qualified" stuff, LOL! Thanks for saying so, though :)

Yes, fonts are easy to use, in Photoshop and all your programs. When you install a font, it goes into your system, and is used by all your applications. It's sort of like all the fonts go into a big pool, and depending on the application you're using, they get called into action when you specify them in a file you create.

If you're using a PC, here's how to install those new fonts you're planning to purchase:

1. Click on your Start button, and then open the Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Fonts folder.

3. Select File, and then Install New Font. Now you need to navigate to where your fonts are located.

-- In the Drives list, select the drive and the folder containing the fonts you want to install.

-- In the Folders list, select a folder that has the fonts you want to install. Make sure you've unzipped them first, of course. The fonts in the folder appeara under List of Fonts.

4. Select the fonts you want to install. If you're installing more than one, hold down the Control key and click each font.

6. To copy the fonts to your Fonts folder, make sure the "Copy fonts to the Fonts folder" box is checked.

If you're installing fonts from a floppy or a CD, make sure this box is checked. Otherwise, you'll always need to keep the disk in the drive, in order to use the fonts.

7. Click OK, and that's it!


Now if you have a Mac, post back and let me know which operating system you're using, and I'll post the instructions. It's different, depending on whether you're using OS X or OS 9.

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There are several ways to make sure your font is included when you give a file to the printer.

1. "Embedding" is offered in some programs like InDesign and Quark -- mostly page layout programs, but Illustrator lets you embed fonts too. What this means, basically, is that your font becomes a part of that file -- it's sort of permanently "linked" to that file. Embedding does increase your file size, though, so you should be aware of that.


2. Photoshop doesn't have this feature, so you can either copy your fonts to a CD when you take them to the printer, or you can rasterize them.

What rasterizing does is translate your type into a graphic. Once you do this, you can't go back and edit it, though, so make sure everything's spelled right, and is just the way you want it, before you rasterize!

To rasterize, select the layer your type is on, in the layers palette, and then go to the Layer pulldown menu. Select Rasterize, then select Type. You really won't see anything happen on the screen, but if you look at your layers palette now, you won't see a T (for type) beside the layer name. This layer will look like any other layer that might contain graphics.

But now you can move your letters around individually, erase parts of them, apply gradient fills to them -- anything you would normally do to a graphic.

Check this out:
http://little-works.com/all_experts/rasterize.mov


Rasterizing is easy, but can make your type look kind of jaggy. And since Photoshop's not the best program in the world for displaying type in the first place, you can use the anti-aliasing options to make your type look better prior to rasterizing.

To do this, just select your type -- before your rasterize, that is -- with the Text tool, and use the little pop-up menu (it's on the options bar, right below the Filter pulldown menu). You can choose from Strong, Crisp, Sharp, Smooth, and None. Just experiment with these, as different fonts will react differently to these options.

Hope this helps, Viki! Let me know if you need any more assistance.

Lisa


Answer
Yippee, it's even easier to install fonts on a Mac! Especially with OS X: Copy the font from the CD (or whatever media it came on) onto your desktop. Now just double-click the font, and it should open in your Font Book (which is part of OS X). There will be a button in the lower right corner of the Font Book window that says Install, and just click that button and the font will install automatically.

Like this:
http://little-works.com/all_experts/install_font.png

OR -- to install manually, you can open your hard drive, select System, then Library, then Fonts. This is the folder you want to drag the font(s) into.

Like this:
http://little-works.com/all_experts/fonts.png


Hope this helps! Holler if you  need more help.

Lisa