In the 12 years since I bought my first computer, I've paid for precisely one font. One. That was when I was attempting to learn Hungarian (long story) and I couldn't find the double-umlaut the Magyars use – so I had to fork out for a special Central European one.
There have been times when my computer was full of fonts I'd picked up here and there – before I realised that, actually, I wasn't ever going to be a graphic designer, so I junked them. These days I make do with the pre-installed fonts on my machine, and reliable old warhorses such as Arial and Times do me proud. But there's no doubting that font piracy is endemic. I mean, have you ever bought one?
Most of us go through that period of collecting a massive library of fonts, thanks to the misguided notion that having loads to choose from will suddenly add that missing flash of inspiration to our party invitations. And it's not like they're difficult to come by. "Got any fonts?" you might ask a friend; within a couple of minutes they can burn their collection to a CD, ready to copy over to your machine. There's no copy protection, no serial numbers, no dongles, no authorization; more so than any other software, font companies relies on the guilt of the individual for their revenue. And as we're all aware, any guilt attached to file sharing is evaporating rapidly.
There are several sources on the net for free fonts, of course. But free fonts are, by and large, amateurish efforts that might not include certain characters, might not conform to certain standards, and are often just poorly designed. Free fonts that look professional might be pirated versions of classic fonts that have had their names changed, then repackaged and uploaded to the internet. A study that was done of one free font site found that nearly 70% had an absent copyright string – a typical indication that it's been converted from a paid-for version.
Machines in the workplace are often riddled with pirated fonts; any designer will be familiar with the situation where a design job comes in on a DVD containing the InDesign or Quark files, images, and of course the fonts that were used. They're loaded into the system, but few designers would bother to delete them after the job was finished. Indeed, Faber & Faber found "hundreds of thousands" of fonts on their systems when they ran a check last week. John Lovelock from the Federation Against Software Theft believes that this is typical. "We say that all licenseable software must be accounted for," he said, "but firms will typically work their way down the ladder of risk, checking the system software and desktop publishing programs first – and of course fonts are at the bottom of this ladder."
A well-designed font is a beautiful thing to behold. But do we value them enough?
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At the risk of being labelled a pedantic arse, I think you mean 'typefaces' throughout rather than 'fonts'. This is how personal computing/desktop publishing has affected the terminology.
But yes, it's absolutely true. FACT the anti-piracy slogan/people also say that it also stands for Fonts Are Copyright Too. Although when you collect a piece of work to be sent to a printer, there is a popup box which does ask you to reflect on whether you own the fonts you're about to send so there's no excuse.
Further than this, I wonder how many people have ever paid for software? The number of pirated Words and Quarks out there must run into the hundreds of thousands.
Posted by: Jakers | Friday, 29 February 2008 at 05:46 PM
Like many people, I don't like paying vast Corporations for ubiquitous software.
Nor am I comfortable using pirated/stolen material.
Solution?
I use Open Source software.
No need to pay license fees, the updates are free, and it has all the functionality that I need.
A list of FOSS (Free or Open Source Software) that is designed for use with MS Windows, and that covers most of most folks' software needs - and the links to its download sites - can be found at http://www.opensourcewindows.org.
[Other programs/sources ARE available.]
With all this stuff available for free, WHY pay for (or pirate) software?
Posted by: Ed R | Friday, 29 February 2008 at 06:48 PM
> I don't like paying vast Corporations for ubiquitous software
I sympathize with your sentiment, but there are very few font manufacturers that can be described as "vast". Most typeface design is done by individuals and small companies. It's a very esoteric skill and there are very few who can do it well. They should be paid for their work. For this and other reasons, there are also very few quality open source fonts. I urge you to learn more about type design before tossing it in with all "software".
Posted by: Stephen Coles | Sunday, 02 March 2008 at 07:15 AM
Hi Stephen,
I was replying specifically to Jakers' comment
"Further than this, I wonder how many people have ever paid for software? The number of pirated Words and Quarks out there must run into the hundreds of thousands."
I was NOT making any comment about typefaces (let alone a dismissive one); I was trying to show that there are more than just the two ways - either buying the market leader or stealing it - of obtaining programs.
I (like most people) have never had to buy a font as a separate item (because the ones that come bundled in the OS & office suite I use are sufficient for my needs).
Having dabbled in 'design' as part of a former job, it was my observation that *no-one* seemed to notice the fact that I had switched from TNR/Arial in the documents that I sent around the company. This used to irk me, after I had specifically selected 'my' fonts.
I suspect that those who DID notice the 'unusual' typefaces on the stuff that I originated didn't actually care.
I thus suspect that the *only* people who find typeface design to be *particularly* important are people within the Design/Publishing industries - which (if I'm right) is a shame, but also just one of those irritating facts of Life®.
I once spent ages using a vector graphics package to 'closely imitate' a Mac font used on our Corporate logo (we used PC's) for a 2-metre-wide logo on a poster for use on advertising hoardings.
I was particularly annoyed when the exec for whom I'd done this not only didn't notice that I'd done it (because he didn't realise that the fonts were different) but also remarked that 'it didn't matter'. (Should I have been surprised, given that the job had been given to me, rather than contracted out to a professional design house?)
Professional designers/publishers will most likely be using paid-for pro-grade software (which contains properly licensed typefaces) - and also actually care enough about their work (and have the budget) to *buy* specific typefaces when they need them, rather than pirating them.
I used the qualifier "most of most folks' software needs" in my OP because I recognise that, if you are a professional publisher/designer, you might well find that no Open Source software (yet) meets all your needs.
But these are still small, niche, industries, and most people will certainly find FOSS sufficient for their 'design' needs.
Posted by: Ed R | Wednesday, 05 March 2008 at 02:00 AM
If I need to use a specific font for a project (I'm a web designer), that font will generally be supplied by the client if we haven't already got it. Although I did recently spend €28 of my own money on a font that I didn't actually need for any particular purpose, I just wanted it :-)
Posted by: Robin Parker | Thursday, 06 March 2008 at 10:08 AM
Hey Ya'll,
There are alternatives to expensive fonts. I personally use FontMarketplace.com for all my projects. They offer hundreds of high quality fonts for cheap. There are good sites out there, you just have to look :)
Posted by: Karen Adams | Monday, 10 March 2008 at 03:50 PM
You have to be stupid to make a career out of selling non-protected digital works. And by non-protected I mean a digital work that lacks any protection scheme like a serial. Typography is something you do on weekends in hopes of making a few extra dollars.
The whine of the "starving fontographer" is getting annoying, and the people are tuning them out like a kid who just shit themselves at Denny's. They send out DMCA orders to site Admins like it means something. But that law only protects the circumvention of copyright protections, in which fonts there are none. Plus they send them out to Romanian Admins like its global law.
Then there's people like P22 and T26, who copy 100 yr. old fonts from books, old typefaces that predated copyright law or was never copyrighted or the rights to which have expired. Typefaces that should even by law, now be in the public domain. They turn them into a digital medium and lay claim to the world that it's their 'original creation' as dictated in the copyright application. They have the audacity to charge excessive prices and cry about being a victim. It's thieves engaging in thievery, attacking other thieves in my opinion.
Posted by: Noneya Business | Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 02:21 PM