Illustrator to FontLab



Illustrator to FontLab

In addition to using copy-paste via the clipboard, you can transport your drawings to FontLab using the EPS format.

1. Set the preferences in Illustrator and FontLab as described above.

2. Open your drawing in Illustrator.

3. Select File / Export / Illustrator Legacy EPS. Type in a filename, click on Save, in the following dialog box select Version: Illustrator 8 EPS, and click OK.

4. Import the EPS to FontLab (Glyph / Import from EPS or File / Import / EPS).

Some additional clarification:

When the option FontLab Preferences | General | Do not rescale EPS files is disabled, then FontLab will always automatically rescale your drawing so its height will be equal 70% of the font's UPM size. When your font has the UPM size of 1000, FontLab will automatically make your drawing 700 units high. (In FontLab Studio 5, instead of 70% of UPM size, the font's Ascender will be used.)

When the option is enabled, FontLab will not rescale

anything. In this case 1 pt in the AI/EPS file will be equal 1 FontLab unit, so 1 inch will be equal 72 FontLab units.

If you observe some distortions in the shape of the imported object, make sure that it is not related to the integer coordinates. Generally, digital fonts (PostScript, TrueType or OpenType) can only include integer coordinates. On the other hand, your Illustrator artwork can have nodes with non-integer coordinates such as 161.352 pt or 354.78 mm. When FontLab imports a drawing, it has to round them to integer values -- because it cannot generate fonts with non-integer coordinates.

The smaller your object is, the more extreme the rounding (and therefore, distortion) will occur. Therefore, we advise that you always design your artwork in Illustrator so that no rounding will occur.

If you want your object to be as large as a typical uppercase letter, scale it in Illustrator so that it is 700 pt high. Set Illustrator 1 pt and make sure that all the nodes (points) in your artwork snap to that grid, i.e. that they do not have non-integer coordinates.)

Below is some additional clarification regarding the differences in outline handling of the Fontographer application and the FontLab/TypeTool applications. 

The principal difference in drawing glyphs in Fontographer vs. FontLab/TypeTool is that during the design process, Fontographer allows for non-integer node coordinates while FontLab/TypeTool doesn't. In Fontographer, if you enable View / Snap to Grid, the drawing behavior will be similar to that of FontLab: you will be able to place your nodes on integer coordinates only. But if you disable this option, you will be able to place the nodes on non-integer coordinates (e.g. 72.4, 345.6). This gives you increased precision while drawing. However, note that when you generate your font, Fontographer will automatically round all non-integer coordinates to integers, which may cause outline distortions. You can manually evoke the rounding by choosing Points / Align Points to Grid. 

FontLab/TypeTool do not let you work in non-integer coordinates, so you don't get the increased precision while drawing, but you always maintain full overview on what your outlines will look like in the final font. To get some increased precision in FontLab/TypeTool, you may increase the UPM size of your font (Font Info / Metrics and Dimensions) to 2000, 4000 or even 10000. When you finalize your design, set the UPM size back to 1000 (with "Scale all glyphs according to UPM change" enabled). 

The major difference discussed above has particular impact on imported/pasted EPS illustratons. When you paste/import and EPS illustration into Fontographer, it lets you keep the non-integer coordinates until you generate your font or choose "Align Points to Grid". This way, your drawing will keep its original non-distorted form in Fontographer where you can freely scale and redraw it -- but if your drawing has nodes on non-integer coordinates, it will be distorted upon generation of the font or when you choose "Align Points to Grid". This can be easily tested: just generate a Type 1 font in Fontographer and read it back in, then compare. 

On the other hand, FontLab/TypeTool perform the rounding-to-integers already at the beginning of the process, when you import or paste the illustration. So if your original illustration was very small or had a size considerably different from the final size, it will be distorted. However, if you scale the glyphs to the appropriate size in Illustrator and paste them into FontLab, you will see exactly what the forms will look like in the final font. In the end, whatever goes into the font from Fontographer or FontLab, is the same. The difference is that FontLab always shows you in full WYSIWYG what the font outlines will look like while Fontographer allows you more freedom in the design process but then does the coordinate rounding for you in an uncontrolled manner. Which usually means you will have to redraw the glyphs anyway so *you* decide where the nodes should snap rather than the application. If you work with FontLab/TypeTool, we recommend that you scale the drawings into the exact final size in Illustrator, following the recommendations given earlier in this thread (i.e. working on a 1 pt grid and keeping in mind that 1 pt in Illustrator equals 1 font unit in FontLab). 

Regards, 

Adam Twardoch

Fontlab Ltd.

The home for Fontographer and FontLab

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