posted
Okay, I just spent over 25 minutes looking for a font. It's frustrating because I've already used this font for a job a few years back and I now have to do more work for them. However, I have lost all the job files them due to a system crash a few years ago, so reluctantly, I had to go on that crazy font hunt I wish I could avoid.
I remember the day when I could look at fonts and know their names, but no longer. Too many now, and I just don't have the memory capacity I once had for it. haha
I did find the font in my archives, but this situation once again made me realize my font usuage problem. I'm severely challenged here, and could really use some insight on how some of you are cataloging your fonts.
What system are you using to be able to find fonts easier when you need them ... especially when you don't have their names. haha
I use bitstream navigator, which helps quite alot. But still, I have fonts all over the place in different folders, and a lot of dupes I go thru, which wastes time. I need to get them all in one place, and it would also help to have them catagorized by styles.
Would anyone please enlighten me to a good system for cataloging fonts better? What sort of catagories have you generated for them? Also, I seem to recall a site where you could load a graphic and it will identify a font name for you? Is there such a place?
I would certainly appreciate making my life easier somehow when it comes to keeping track of fonts.
sincerely, ~ nettie
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
I had to use it yesterday. Sometimes I have good luck with it, sometimes not.
Here where I work we have tons of useless fonts that have accumulated over the past 2 decades and god knows how many designers. A lot of them are trite display fonts from the 80's and lot of duplicates with bastard names. One of these days I need to get them organized. Churning through fonts in Bitstream Navigator takes forever at this place.
Janette, I guess the best way for you to organize your fonts would be to create seperate folders and group them by style.
posted
I do tell my customers that my system sometimes have FULL crash or that the shop have occational burgle and destro visits, and then I hand them a CD with all their bought files, vector files included. They are responsible for keeping them safe and if I loose THEIR file they have to pay to get it redone! Just to keep my back free in case all backups fail
-------------------- Stein Saether GullSkilt AS Trondheim Posts: 1183 | From: Trondheim Norway | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Nikki Goral Image Advantage Signs 4050 Champeau Road New Franken, WI 54229 920-465-4500 "Finish every day and be done with it. Tomorrow is a new day."-Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 928 | From: New Franken, WI (East Green Bay) | Registered: Jun 2007
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posted
The whole thing is just crazy ... hundreds of fonts come out every DAY ... I can't keep track of my own fonts I'm making and creating, let alone the stuff my customers come up with after a late-nite designing jaunt on the internet.
I've often considered just creating a 50 font collection of the most used styles in the sign shop and telling everyone who walks thru the door that is all they have to pick from!
-------------------- Michael Gene Adkins The Fontry 1576 S Hwy 59 Watts OK 74964 Posts: 845 | From: Watts, OK USA | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
I have a folder called "Fonts Sorted" In that I have numerous folders with titles like Old English, Casual Scripts, FOrmal Scripts, Sans Serif, Slab Serif, etc. This makes locating easier.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6714 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Easy to solve by dropping fonts on to a CD at least once a year...
-------------------- Jack Wills Studio Design Works 1465 E.Hidalgo Circle Nye Beach / Newport, OR Posts: 2914 | From: Rocklin, CA. USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
I dont use font management I just drop into windows fonts when I add. I backup fonts about once a month.
I have 108 fonts on my comp.Every now and then ill have to load one to do a file.
Nothing ticks me off more than finding out somehow a program has loaded another 50 on there. That's seems to be happening a regular basis now. I loaded cs5 and now I have about 20 extra and cant get them off.
I love fonts but I dont need 2500 on my computer, waste of time, computer space and I don't have that much time to be sorting thru that many in flexi
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
posted
"What system are you using to be able to find fonts easier when you need them ... especially when you don't have their names."
I throw all my fonts into the Windows font directory and, using CorelDraw X5, it previews the text in whichever font I hover the mouse over. Maybe not the best way, but not bad for identifying specific character traits on the fly.
Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I store fonts in several folders, (most by font style), on my hard drive and once a month backup all files on an external hard drive.
All of my vector files contain the original vector image with fonts embedded and a copy of the original vector image converted to paths or curves. Having the duplicate "curves" has saved me more than once, as sometimes fonts are not converted correctly. I even go one step further on logo creation: I type out all fonts used and PDF colors associated below the logo.
I'm a bit of a "type A', but I have found that a little extra effort on the front end may save you quite a few headaches down the road.
-------------------- Keith Jenicek Artisan Signs St. Louis, MO
Keith, I want to be more dilligent with keeping such specs on each job too. I statt doing that, but have not been good with keeping up with it. I know that would save me a lot of time in the long run. I just need to train myself to keep doing any methods I put in place. With me, it's an operator problem.
Gonna make some time to organize my fonts into catagories too.
On goes the struggle to keep on top of things.
Thanks again for your views everyone ... and the links your've shared. ~ janette
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
Janette over time ive learned to load all new (and old) fonts into one master directory on the server (many sub directories), as we add or change computers in the shop I just make sure font navigator is installed and enabled and pointed towards this directory, should we open a legacy file and any particular font is not installed on that computer but is in the master font directory, font navigator will find it and prompt for install. This doesn't classify fonts in any way when you're being creative but sure helps with finding a font you've used before for a particular client. Within Font navigator you can of course classify fonts into groups or styles and this will not impede the search function in any way.
[ January 10, 2011, 08:27 PM: Message edited by: Mike O'Neill ]
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
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