TQT: New Fonts…

The internet can be a scary place. The most terrifying thing you can do is type the word “free” into Google. An excellent example is if you want a few font on your computer and you end up searching for “free fonts”. There is an excellent chance that if you proceeded to the resulting links, you would probably end up with at least one virus on your computer.

Last week, I needed a cool font for a project I’ve been working on, so I did some research for a great place to get fonts that wouldn’t damage my computer. Here’s what I found: dafont.com.

From dafont.com, you can easily search for free fonts, fonts that require a donation to use, or even demo fonts that you can purchase. The search can also filter for styles (gothic, fancy), effects (distorted, metallic), or even dingbats which are just symbols and pictures. I ended up finding exactly what I wanted: an old-school typewriter font.

What do you think of the results?

I also want to include a little warning. If you end up downloading new fonts and using them in a shared document, the person you’re sharing with may not be able to view the font unless they have it install. However, they will be able to see it if the document is first printed as a PDF or saved as a picture, like mine above is. Otherwise, you will have to “embed” the font in the document (check out this article for more info).

If you do find a font you like, it is simple to install and every page on dafont.com give instructions that look like this:

• Windows 7/Vista: Right-click on the font files > “Install”
• Windows XP: Put the font files into C:\Windows\Fonts
• Mac OS X: Double-click the font file > “Install font” button.

Let me know if you find any great fonts out there as I’d love to have some other great fonts to use on various projects I work on from time to time. Also, if you have a go-to site for fonts, stock images, or other design elements, feel free to share with the other readers.