Top Type light Alternative Software for Font Creation
Type light is a popular choice for designing, editing, and converting OpenType, TrueType, and PostScript fonts. As a light version of the more comprehensive Type 3.2 font editor, it provides an ideal entry point into the world of font creation. However, depending on your specific needs, budget, or preferred operating system, you might be looking for a Type light alternative. This article explores some of the best alternatives available, offering a range of features and functionalities.
Best Type light Alternatives
Whether you're a seasoned typographer or just starting your font design journey, there's a Type light alternative out there for you. Here's a curated list of excellent software options that can help you achieve your font creation goals.
FontForge
FontForge is a powerful typeface (font) editor program developed by George Williams. It's a fantastic open-source Type light alternative, available for Free on Mac, Windows, and Linux under the BSD license. Its key features include a robust font maker, portability, and the ability to create web fonts, making it a versatile tool for any font designer.
BirdFont
BirdFont is a free font editor that allows you to create vector graphics and export TTF, OTF, EOT, and SVG fonts. It's available for Free Personal use, with paid tiers, and is open-source. BirdFont supports Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD platforms and boasts features like Color Fonts Support, OTF editing, TTF editing, and SVG Editors, making it a comprehensive Type light alternative.
FontCreator
FontCreator is a professional font editor for Windows, offering robust tools to create and edit TrueType and OpenType fonts. As a Commercial Type light alternative, it provides powerful drawing tools that cater to the needs of typographers and graphic designers, including support for Multiple Font Colors.
FontStruct
FontStruct is a free, web-based font-building tool provided by FontShop. This Type light alternative lets you quickly and easily create fonts using a modular system, featuring a convenient drag and drop interface, making font design accessible to everyone.
Glyphs
Glyphs is a highly regarded Commercial font editor specifically designed for Mac users. It's an excellent Type light alternative for those looking to create everything from dingbat webfonts to full-fledged text typefaces in a truly Mac-like environment.
Fontself Maker for Illustrator & Photoshop
Fontself Maker is a Commercial plugin for Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop CC, available for Mac and Windows. It provides the fastest and easiest way to create OpenType fonts directly within your favorite design software. Used by thousands of creatives, including at Nike, it offers features like Color Fonts Support, making it a seamless Type light alternative for designers already within the Adobe ecosystem.
TruFont
TruFont is a Free and open-source font-editing application written with Python3, ufoLib, defcon, and PyQt5. Available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, it serves as a solid Type light alternative for users seeking a free and customizable font editor.
FontLab Studio
FontLab Studio 5 is a next-generation professional font editor for Mac and Windows. As a Commercial Type light alternative, it is widely used by industry giants like Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft, indicating its high level of professional capability and reliability.
Private Character Editor
Private Character Editor (PCE) is a Free, built-in Windows utility that allows you to create up to 6,400 unique characters (such as special letters and logos) for use in your font library. For basic character creation on Windows, this can be a simple Type light alternative.
Type 3.2
Type 3.2 is the advanced, Commercial version of Type light, also for Windows. It offers enhanced capabilities for designing, editing, and converting OpenType and TrueType fonts, including the ability to run user-defined actions. If you enjoy Type light but need more professional features, Type 3.2 is the most direct Type light alternative from the same developer.
With a diverse range of options from free and open-source to professional commercial software, you're sure to find a Type light alternative that perfectly aligns with your font creation workflow and budget. Explore these choices to find the best fit for your typographic endeavors!