astype fonts is a type design studio from Berlin, Germany. Since 2003, we’ve been helping refine logos and develop typefaces. Passionate about stencil type, we research the history of stencil marking and offer the world’s largest collection of original vintage stencil typefaces. – Let’s take a look at our type library and tell your story.

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New Free Font - Astype Stencil

Spring Update #2 Astype Stencil is our new freebie for all lovers of Bauhaus and Disco.

Spring Update #1 We have created an additional version of the Ideal No.1 typeface. This is beause in the nearly 90 years that the Ideal stencil machines have been manufactured, some details of the machines have changed - included the letterforms. Our first typeface is based on an early model of the No.1, from the 1920-40s. A 1968 machine have some changes to the typeface. This is now available as version 60 - Vtg Stencil Ideal No.1 60.

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Note: Today, the major font sales site make it difficult to fairly market font licenses. You may find older astype fonts there. We cannot update them unless we agree to unfair contract terms. — You'll always find our latest font updates and new releases here.

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Astype Fonts Spring Update 2024

Over the winter we have been researching the history of American stencil machines. This has resulted in numerous updates to our other websites like idealstencil.com and stenciltype.com as well as our Diagraph and Marsh history pages.

Thanks to an authentic specimen, we have also digitized the 1.75" Diagraph Jumbo typeface. This is our first font release for 2024: Vtg Stencil Diag-175.

In the spring, we purchased our first own Ideal Stencil Machine No.1, a German Army model from 1968 in full iron cast. The machine had been through a lot and had to be partially disassembled and cleaned before it could be used again. This resulted in a new font and a font update: Vtg Stencil Ideal No.1 60.

In April, we technically finalized a font that had been sitting in our drawer for a long time. The font is now available as Astype Stencil and the Basic font style is free of charge.

Vtg Stencil Diag-B 175

The Font Vtg Stencil Diag-B 175 is the first digitization of the typeface from an old Diagraph Jumbo stencil machine from Diagraph-Bradley, manufactured since around 1912. Beginning in the 1940s, all export cargo from the U.S. had to be marked with at least 1.5 inches of type height. For a long time, Diagraph-Bradley was the only manufacturer to offer stencil machines in this size. The Diagraph Jumbo was available in several type sizes - 2, 1.75, 1.5, and 1.25 inches. The most popular type size, was the model with 1.75 inch. Now it is also available as a font in our Vintage Stencil Font Library. More information can be found in the fonts PDF specimen file.

Vtg Stencil Ideal No.1 60

Our first typeface from an Ideal machine, based on the Ideal No.1, comes from an early machine manufactured between about 1920 and 1940. However, Ideal stencil machines were made from 1913 until about 2002. During this time, the technical design of the machines did not change much. The manufacture of the punches and dies, one of the most expensive components of these machines, was always subject to technical progress. The design of some of the letters also changed over time. Our own Ideal No.1, dating from around 1968, had some differences in the type design compared to the sample from 1920s. We have incorporated these changes into a new version of the typeface - Vtg Stencil Ideal No.1 60. Both versions are authentic and faithful to the original. Beginning in the late 1980s, the punches were milled using CNC technology and digital outlines, which resulted in even rounder letter ends. So it would be possible for us to create another version of Ideal No.1 in the style of the alte 1980s. Let's see if we can get our hands on some original stencils.

Astype Stencil

When we were working on DIN Stencil Type A typeface a few years ago, we looked at Futura Black, a typeface from the 1920s by Paul Renner. We often wondered why the lowercase letters of Futura Black, in particular, were so illogically designed with high-contrast extensions in some places. Perhaps this is why Futura Black is often used only in uppercase. We experimented and tried to create a mix of Futura Black and DIN Stencil using the basic tools of DIN Stencil Type A. The resulting font contained only the basic lowercase and uppercase letters and figures. The project disappeared into our experimental font drawer.

But the result was too good to stay in the drawer forever. We found that this blend turned out much better than the original Futura Black. Our Astype Stencil has enough character to hold its own next to Futura Black. To find out what others think, we have included the BASIC style as a freebie font in our collection of free fonts. The basic version is only slightly reduced compared to the commercial REGULAR version. Only a few alternate letters and the Cyrillic glyphs are missing. In addition to the standard character set, the BASIC version also includes Latin Extended B and thus has more glyphs than many other Futura Black versions found on the Internet

With Astype Stencil - Basic you are on the safe side as far as licensing is concerned, because you can use this font for commercial purposes free of charge. If you like the font, we would appreciate it if you would also license the Regular version. Have fun and made soem good stuff.