Guides

Everything here is written from how the converter actually behaves. The advice about preparing a source image matters more than the advice about settings, because most conversion problems are decided before the file is ever opened.

• How to use an image to font converter

  A practical walkthrough of converting an image of letterforms into a working OTF: what the tracer needs from your picture, which controls matter, and how to check the result before you install it.

• Turn handwriting into a font

  How to write, photograph and convert a handwriting sample into an installable OTF — including the letters people forget to write and the spacing work that makes it read like handwriting.

• PNG to OTF conversion

  What actually happens when a PNG becomes an OTF, why PNG is the best input format for tracing, and how to export a PNG that converts cleanly the first time.

• Create a font from a scanned alphabet

  How to lay out, scan and convert an alphabet specimen sheet — scanner settings, row layout that segments reliably, and how to fix rows that merge or split incorrectly.

• Create an icon font from an image

  How single pieces of artwork become icon glyphs, why they are mapped into the Private Use Area, and how to prepare a symbol so it traces into a clean, usable icon font.

• Create a custom font on iPhone

  Photograph your lettering and convert it to an OTF entirely in mobile Safari — plus what iOS can and cannot do with a font file once you have one.