Cheap Or Free Fonts

Discussion in Software PC & Mac started by Zyni • Feb 11, 2015.

  1. Zyni

    ZyniWell-Known Member

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    I used to have a CD filled with fonts. It was great. My mom got it for me through some special deal where she could choose several for only $1 each. I don't know what program that was, but I think it was something like those old book clubs where you got discounts if you signed up and bought so many books over a period of time. Do you know of any similar programs or other venues for finding free or cheap fonts?
     
  2. deathbyprayer

    deathbyprayerActive Member

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    I just search the internet for free font's actually and besides having a big deal with so many fonts is not going to be really useful for you not unless you're a designer or developer of some sort and believe me, if you're a designer you wouldn't need that many to begin with.
     
  3. beccagreen

    beccagreenActive Member

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    I agree with Deathybyprayer, having a tons of fonts on your computer is as useful as you make it to be. If you're a graphic designer then it might suit you to have a bunch of them on the fly but if you're just a normal guy/gal I don't find that much use for it. But to answer your question, I used to have CD's full of royalty free fonts that I got from a design magazine that I'm subscribed to but that was a long time ago, back when magazines are a thing. Now I get them from Dafonts.com
     
  4. Zyni

    ZyniWell-Known Member

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    I'll have to check out Dafonts. That's helpful.

    I use different fonts for making various craft items, gift cards, tags, decorative signs, art for my kids, holiday things, personalized stuff, etc. You can also use them on websites/blogs. You don't have to be a graphic designer to use a variety of fonts. :) There are many uses for them.
     
  5. beccagreen

    beccagreenActive Member

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    I pretty much get all fonts there but that's just one of the many sites I frequent in. Just do a quick Google search for free fonts and you'll have a page full of options. :)
     
  6. Zyni

    ZyniWell-Known Member

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    Yeah, I have looked, and there are several options. I was just wondering which ones were good, and if there were any of those offers or deals like what used to be available. I figured someone might know which sites were best, easiest to use, etc. and whether or not I could get a cheap or free CD from somewhere. The CD was handy. I could just pop it in and pick something, rather than searching all over and then downloading. Plus I didn't have to worry about making sure they were royalty free and stuff. I guess I'll start searching...
     
  7. hellavu

    hellavuActive Member

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    I just google "best free fonts" and then click on the first website, usually it is easy to search through it (categories and show by popularity or someting). But many of those free fonts are only free for personal use, so that is something to watch out for. Still plenty of completely free fonts out there, but they are not always my favorites. *sigh*
     
  8. Eiko

    EikoMember

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    As it's been stated before, I love using Dafonts.com.

    I do a lot of casual image editing and graphics for websites so having a variety of fonts is pretty important for my hobby. I haven't had any trouble with the security aspect of downloading their free fonts, and I've known a large number of people who use the website as well without issues.
     
  9. Squigly

    SquiglyActive Member

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    If your handwriting is pretty good in real life, and you would like to make a truly unique font, check out

    Log In



    It's totally free and great for graphics designers. Granted there's more effort involved but you can come up with exactly the kind of font that you are envisioning for your projects.
     
  10. Zyni

    ZyniWell-Known Member

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    This sounds great, Squigly. Thank you for posting it. I do actually have nice handwriting, so I think that would be fun as well as being very helpful. I can't wait to play around with it. What a neat idea. I've always thought about making a font of my own, but never really sat down to do it.

    I can think of all kinds of fun stuff to make with this. Have you used it?
     
  11. Squigly

    SquiglyActive Member

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    I've tried it before while making postcards and stuff. It's great for block letters but understandably less so when you're dealing with cursive letters.
     
  12. Zyni

    ZyniWell-Known Member

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    Ok, yeah, that makes sense. So, do you "own" the font after you make it, or maybe I should say do you have rights to it? Like if I made an item to sell using a font I make on there, is that okay, or do I have to pay royalties or something or is it completely "free"? If you happen to know, great. I'll read it more thoroughly later. I just gave it a glance for right now. I'm excited about trying it out, either way.
     
  13. troutski

    troutskiWell-Known Member

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    You can always design your own fonts, and then you retain the rights to that font if you so choose to sell it or something. Then again, protecting a font that you own the copyright to isn't exactly easy. You're not going to know when another person uses the font you created, and if it looks similar to another font, then you're not going to have any claim for damages. Really though, nobody is going to sue someone else for damages revolving around a computer text font.
     
  14. thenextGeek

    thenextGeekActive Member

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    There's lots of websites that offer free fonts as long as you don't use them for commercial purposes. And I agree with what most people said here. Unless you aren't a graphic designer then you won't be needing many font faces.

    I currently have a part-time business where I design shirts and sell them to other students in my university. Which is why I make sure that I create a backup folder where I save all the fonts that I use. I recently lost my older laptop and downloading all my fonts where a hassle and it took me days to download my entire collection.