What Font making software are you using?

Sorry if this has been asked repetitively. Just curious. I have been using Fontlab for years and I do enjoy it minus the occasional bugs /crashes here and there. I have heard of Glyphs but have never used it.
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  • James PuckettJames Puckett Posts: 1,969
    I do almost everything with Glyphs and RMX for Glyphs. I still use Metrics Machine for kerning. I only use Fontlab to move VFB data to/from Glyphs.
  • RalfRalf Posts: 170
    Glyphs for the reasons mentioned here.
    FontLab Studio 5 for (double) checking existing/exported fonts.
  • Thanks guys for the responses. I need to check out Glyphs. RMX is a lifesaver.
  • Mark SimonsonMark Simonson Posts: 1,652
    I've been working with RoboFont quite a bit, but still dependent on FontLab for finalizing and generating (so far). Still very interested in Glyphs, but it's not as friendly to legacy font data as RoboFont. I'm trying it out on some new projects, but have not spent enough time with it yet. It does come in handy sometimes, even though it's not what I'm primarily using currently.
  • RoboFont, Metrics Machine, Prepolator, Superpolator, etc.

    I really really really like the UFO ecosystem's simpler, more specialized tools and the accessibility/durability of the UFO format.
  • Nick ShinnNick Shinn Posts: 2,131
    Still using FontLab. Change is slow around here.
  • James PuckettJames Puckett Posts: 1,969
    What are RoboFont users using to master fonts? Can you do it in RoboFont or are you using the FDK to create release versions of your RoboFont output?
  • PabloImpallariPabloImpallari Posts: 777
    edited March 2013
    A little bit of everything....
    Mostly using FontLab, lots of custom macros, RMXtools, UFOstrech, Prepolator and Superpolator.

    Also:
    - Licensed Metrics Machine, mostly to play around, and its great. Haven't used it for a complete project yet, but hopping to put it to real work in the future.
    - Played around on both Glyphs and RoboFont betas, and both looks great. They will be my next purchases pretty soon. Among other reasons, to be able to use Yanone's awesome SpeedPunk plugin.
    - FontForge is getting a complete makeover. Since a few weeks ago, there is an easy to install drag-and-drop Mac version available (And they keep releasing new and improved builds every day). I've been playing around lately with Spiro curves, and they seems great for creating swashes and things like that.
  • Thanks guys! Too bad Glyphs is Mac only. I have a mac but my primary system is windows.
    @James, how do you like Metrics Machine?
  • I just realized its for Mac only. :(
  • Jason CampbellJason Campbell Posts: 100
    edited March 2013
    What Jackson said...
    Except that if the font is intended for web use and needs TT hinting, I'm kind of stuck with FL, or I have to hint in VTT.
  • John HudsonJohn Hudson Posts: 2,955
    FontLab Studio 5 (and a lot of macros I've had written over the years)
    VOLT
    VTT
    Font Validator
    DTL OTMaster

    I'm mostly Windows based -- which is why I've always been happier with FontLab than most of my Mac-using colleagues --, but occasionally fire up the Mac to use UFO Stretch.

    People are often surprised by how much use I make of MS Excel in font development.

    I like the idea of UFO files as a source format, but I've found that they get pretty big for some of my fonts and slow to load. Since we're using VOLT for OTL work and VTT for hinting, sfnt is our main source format. I look on FontLab VFBs as glyph sources rather than font sources.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited March 2013
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  • Thomas PhinneyThomas Phinney Posts: 2,732
    FontLab Studio 5
    RMX Tools
    ...and a host of utilities and tools outside of my font editing environment. TTX, DTL OTMaster, ttfautohint, VTT, Font Validator, AFDKO CompareFamily, etcetera.

    Because I only do type design part time, I have a lot of inertia. I am tempted by Glyphs and need to learn more about RoboFont. I have recently had enough exposure to FontForge to be clear that it is not for me any time real soon.
  • Ben BlomBen Blom Posts: 250
    edited March 2013
    FontLab Studio 5
    A lot of Python scripts for FontLab
    RMX Tools
    RoboFab
    AFDKO (autohint, compareFamily)
    MS Excel (font info; a lot of small calculations, most of them related to measurements in FontLab)
    MS Word (to write scripts, OpenType features, in-house documentation)
  • Max PhillipsMax Phillips Posts: 474
    edited March 2013
    OK, James M. Why are you using FL on both Mac & PC? I understand having both around for testing fonts on screen, but why use the same program on two different OSs?
  • Ray LarabieRay Larabie Posts: 1,376
    FontLab Studio 5 in Win8. ttfautohint. Font Validator
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  • Makes sense, James. Thanks!
  • I’m still using FontLab Studio 5 (with RoboFab and tons of Python scripts that I wrote myself) way too much I have to admit. But the latest OS X Intel versions are “helping” me a lot to fully make the transition to RoboFont. I will still keep FontLab on Windows for a while for TrueType hinting though.
    I use TextMate on a daily basis for writing/editing scripts. Numbers or Excel are handy for family planning.
    Then I use almost all other UFO-based tools (Prepolator, UFO Stretch, Rounding UFO, Superpolator, MetricsMachine).
    And in the last stage of production I use Font Validator, AFDKO, TTX and some other afterburners.
  • Same here. Still Font Lab Studio 5 (waiting for Vicotria) , RMX Tools, AFDKO, MetricsMachine, Font Validator and FontPrep.
  • Mark SimonsonMark Simonson Posts: 1,652
    Besides RoboFont, FontLab and Glyphs, I also use a bunch of other tools: MetricsMachine, roundingUFO, Superpolator, Prepolator, TextMate, BBEdit, TTX, AFDKO, ScanFont, Font Validator, OTMaster, Adobe CS (Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign) and a bunch of Python scripts (including RMX Tools, Autopsy and UFOCentral in FontLab). Occasionally I use Fontographer to open ancient FOG files. Also, Numbers for spreadsheet-type stuff.
  • John HudsonJohn Hudson Posts: 2,955
    James mentioned cachett. That's also in my regular toolbox, along with fastfont (which reorders sfnt tables in optimal order for fast access by Windows software). Both these are included in the free MS console tools.

    Over the years, I've collected a sizeable collection of one-off font tools, mostly now obsolete thanks to DTL OTMaster. Some of them, I can't even remember what they were for, or if I ever actually used them in production or only tested them. I've even got an sfnt table editor that is entirely in Japanese.
  • Eris AlarEris Alar Posts: 420
    "I've even got an sfnt table editor that is entirely in Japanese." - this made me chuckle :-D
  • My production set-up: Glyphs with Remix tools, SpeedPunk a lot of Python scripts, and the webfontmaker, plus TextMate. And then some TTX/FontTools, OTMaster, TransType, very rarely FontLab Studio (for converting VFBs and checking hints).

    I do have licenses for Robofont and the other UFO tools, Fontographer, TypeTool etc. but hardly ever use them. I used to work mainly in FLS, but that changed pretty soon once Glyphs was out.
  • We are working on a flashlight-shaped tool that you can point at anything, including specimens, the screen, a tattoo or you eye, and it'll make an OTF.
    Does it have a Python interface? :-)
    SCNR.
  • Yes, and it's behind glass.
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