Font Identification

Handy App for putting a name to a Font.

[BlobFisk]

http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/ [myfonts.com]

If you have ever torn your hair out trying to match a font for something you're working on, then this app is for you!

You can input a URL or upload an image - it will then ask you to match letters to glyph's from the image and it will suggest matches.

Not 100% accurate all the time - but in 10 upload tests it got the font family correct 7 times.

[mivox]

That's pretty impressive! I used a tool elsewhere that lead you through a questionaire about the font's characteristics, rather than using a graphic file... which you'd think would be really useful if there's a font you're trying to find, because you don't already have it... but the results were so totally off-base in my two tests, it didn't seem worth remembering the URL. :)

[Alex_Gilman]

mivox are you tlaking about this tool?
[ll.identifont.com...]

[mivox]

Yep... that's the one. I wasn't even searching for a specific font, but rather a couple of different general types of fonts, so I didn't think I was even putting that much demand on the accuracy of the system... and it wasn't even close.

Maybe I was looking for the wrong types of fonts. hehe

[Alex_Gilman]

Actually I tested it by searching for Ariel and I wasn't very successful but I found a few that looked very close.

[rogerd]

My experience was the same as Alex's - it identified Book Antiqua as Palatino. Fairly close. I think the problem is their library of fonts isn't all inclusive. The bigger problem is that you have to have a very good sampling of the font just to answer their questions. That's fine if you have pages of text, but if you see a logo font or a headline you like, you'll be out of luck if there's not an uppercase "K", etc. Interesting, but of limited use. I'm with mivox on this one - I didn't bother to save the URL. :)

[mivox]

I think the problem is their library of fonts isn't all inclusive.

Now that I look at it again... it seems like it might only include Linotype fonts, or only those available throught he FontLibrary website. That would explain a lot of the "close but not quite" results, as well as why it couldn't find anything even vaguely resembling the stranger sort of fonts I was looking for.

The WhatTheFont tool looks like it might have a broader selection of fonts to search through... but still no joy for those of us trying to find a font from memory!

[Alex_Gilman]

When looking for a particular font from "memory" I like to go to a font website ad just browse it from A-Z this way I can also grab some other cool fonts I bump into.

[mivox]

Ooh. Now you're talking. :) I have so many fonts... I really wish MacOS could handle more installed fonts, because I have yet to try out any "font management" software that wasn't a pain in my rear.

[Alex_Gilman]

What about ATMD?

or was that the pain in the butt you were talking about? ;)

I remember when I worked for this company a while back I saw one of our designers using this tool she seemed to like it.

[adobe.com...]

[mivox]

I've tried ATM and Suitcase, and didn't care for either... I want to be able to just dump everything into my font folder and go! ;)

[korkus2000]

I was always disappointed that I have 5000 fonts but I could have so few installed. I wish the operating systems could handle more.

[BlobFisk]

On the online Font identifier - from what I can tell it only gives back the closest matches from it's own database... the one's it wants to sell to you. :)

I have to say though, that the matches are very very close most of the time.