Freeware Friday: Photofonts and Photofont Start Plug-in

Photofonts. What are they?

Firstly, they are files with the extension “.phf”. Secondly, they are fonts that contain color, transparency, and texture. Thirdly, it’s an open standard, which means that anyone with a graphics program and XML savvy can create one (or, anyone with FontLab’s BitFonter, if you aren’t XML savvy).

In thier native form, however, photofonts aren’t usable by Photoshop, Illustrator, and similar programs. FontLab rides to the rescue, though, with the Photofont Start plugin, version 1.0, for both Mac and Windows.

The plug-in, which is free and fully functional, allows import of photofonts into Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, ImageReady, Corel Draw, Photo-Paint, Painter, and Paint Shop Pro. It is downloadable from FontLab’s Photofont page here.

The Photofont home page itself is home to a great deal of information, including documentation of the standard and a selection of free photofonts.