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Supported Formats
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Desktop Fonts
TrueType Font - universal desktop font format developed by Apple and Microsoft in the 1980s. Uses quadratic Bézier curves for glyph outlines. Excellent screen rendering with hinting technology. Works on all platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux). Supports Unicode with up to 65,536 glyphs. Standard desktop font format with maximum compatibility. Perfect for document embedding, desktop publishing, and cross-platform typography. Universal support in all operating systems and applications. Reliable choice for general-purpose font usage.
OpenType Font - modern font format jointly developed by Adobe and Microsoft (1996) extending TrueType. Uses cubic Bézier curves (PostScript outlines) allowing more complex glyph shapes. Supports advanced typography features (ligatures, alternate glyphs, contextual substitutions). Can contain up to 65,536 glyphs enabling comprehensive language support. Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, Mac, Linux). Industry standard for professional typography and multilingual documents. Perfect for print design, branding, and high-quality typography. Superior to TTF for complex scripts and advanced typographic features.
Mac Data Fork Font - legacy Macintosh font format storing TrueType/PostScript data in data fork. Used in Mac OS 9 and earlier. Phased out with Mac OS X transition to .ttf and .otf. Contains complete font data in single file (unlike resource fork fonts). Limited compatibility with modern systems. Convert to TTF or OTF for current macOS and cross-platform use. Historical format important for accessing old Mac fonts. Mainly encountered when migrating legacy Mac systems.
Compact Font Format - Adobe's space-efficient font outline format used within OpenType fonts. Stores glyph outlines using PostScript-based charstrings. More compact than TrueType outlines. Used in OTF fonts with PostScript outlines. Not standalone font file - embedded in OTF. Professional typography standard. Better compression than TTF outlines. Extract from OTF or work with complete OTF fonts.
CID-Keyed Font - Adobe font format for large character sets (Asian languages with thousands of characters). Character ID based system for efficient large font handling. Used in professional CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) typography. Complex format requiring PostScript RIP support. Legacy format superseded by Unicode OpenType. Convert to modern OTF with Unicode mapping for compatibility. Important for accessing legacy Asian language fonts.
Spline Font Database - FontForge's native font format. Editable font source format storing complete font data including editing information. ASCII or binary format with full font metadata. Used in font design and development. Convert to TTF/OTF for deployable fonts. Perfect for font design workflow. Maintains complete font development history. FontForge is free open-source font editor.
Unified Font Object - open source font source format (XML-based directory structure). Developed by font tool creators for interoperability. Stores complete font design data in human-readable XML. Used by modern font editors (RoboFont, Glyphs, FontForge). Perfect for font development and version control. Industry standard for open font source files. Compile to TTF/OTF for distribution. Excellent for collaborative font design.
Web Formats
Web Open Font Format - font format specifically designed for web use (2009). Compressed TrueType/OpenType fonts reducing file size by ~40%. Supported by 99% of browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge). Includes metadata for licensing and font information. Perfect for website typography ensuring consistent rendering across devices. Industry standard for web fonts. Faster page loads than raw TTF/OTF. Essential for modern web design and custom typography. Recommended for broad web compatibility.
WOFF 2.0 - improved web font format (2014) with better compression using Brotli algorithm. 30% smaller than WOFF with faster decompression. Supported by all modern browsers (96%+ global coverage). Maintains WOFF's metadata and licensing features. Superior performance for web typography. Recommended format for modern websites. Falls back to WOFF for older browsers. Essential for optimizing website performance and reducing bandwidth. Default choice for contemporary web development.
Embedded OpenType - proprietary web font format developed by Microsoft for Internet Explorer. Compressed and subset fonts with DRM protection. Only supported by Internet Explorer (legacy browser). Obsolete format replaced by WOFF/WOFF2. Historically important for web fonts (1997-2010s). Still encountered in legacy websites. Not recommended for new projects. Convert to WOFF2/WOFF for modern browsers. Maintained only for backward compatibility with old IE versions.
SVG Font - vector-based font format embedded in SVG files. Defines glyphs as SVG paths allowing colors, gradients, and effects. Deprecated for web use in favor of WOFF. Limited browser support (only Safari supports SVG fonts). Larger file sizes than outline fonts. Mainly historical format. Useful for special effects and colored fonts. Modern alternative: OpenType-SVG. Not recommended for general use. Better options: WOFF2 with icon fonts or OpenType color fonts.
Specialized Formats
PostScript Font Binary - Adobe Type 1 binary format for professional printing (1984). Contains glyph outlines in PostScript language. Excellent print quality with precise curves. Requires corresponding PFM or AFM metrics file. Standard in professional publishing and printing industry. Limited to 256 glyphs (single-byte encoding). Being replaced by OpenType. Still used in legacy publishing workflows. Convert to OTF for modern compatibility while preserving PostScript quality.
PostScript Font ASCII - Adobe Type 1 ASCII variant of PFB format. Human-readable PostScript code defining font outlines. Used for font development and debugging. Less efficient than PFB binary format. Requires PFM or AFM metrics file. Same quality as PFB for printing. Legacy format for professional typography. Convert to OTF for modern systems. Primarily historical significance in desktop publishing evolution.
Printer Font Metrics - Windows metrics file for Type 1 PostScript fonts. Contains font measurements (character widths, kerning pairs, bounding boxes). Required companion to PFB/PFA for proper rendering on Windows. Text file format with font metrics data. Does not contain glyph outlines. Legacy format from Windows 3.1/95 era. Used with PFB for complete Type 1 font installation. Modern OpenType fonts include metrics internally. Convert Type 1 fonts to OTF to consolidate metrics and outlines.
Adobe Font Metrics - Adobe's metrics format for Type 1 PostScript fonts. Contains character widths, kerning pairs, ligatures, and bounding boxes. ASCII text format readable by humans and applications. Companion to PFB/PFA outline files. Used by font design tools and professional publishing software. Essential for proper font spacing and kerning. Legacy format with historical importance in digital typography. Modern fonts embed metrics in OTF format. Convert to OpenType for integrated metrics and outlines.
Binary Font File - generic binary font data format used by various font tools and editors. Contains raw font outline data without specific format wrapper. Used in font development and conversion pipelines. Requires specific tools to process. Not a standard end-user format. Intermediate format in font creation workflow. Convert to TTF or OTF for usable fonts. Primarily relevant in font design and development contexts.
Mac Suitcase Font - legacy Macintosh font container (Mac OS Classic) storing multiple fonts in one file. Contains TrueType or PostScript fonts in resource fork. Used with Font Suitcase format (.suit extension). Obsolete with Mac OS X migration. Poor compatibility with modern systems. Required Font/DA Mover for installation on old Macs. Extract individual fonts and convert to TTF/OTF for modern use. Important for recovering fonts from classic Mac archives and systems.
PostScript Font Program - Adobe PostScript Type 1 font in PostScript language format. Contains font outlines as PostScript code. Used for printer font downloads and font development. Human-readable but inefficient. Legacy format from desktop publishing era. Convert to OTF for modern usage. Historical importance in professional typography. Mainly encountered in old publishing workflows.
PageMaker 3 Font - legacy font format from Aldus PageMaker 3.0 (1980s desktop publishing). Proprietary format specific to early PageMaker versions. Obsolete format with no modern support. Important only for recovering old PageMaker documents. Convert to TTF/OTF if font data recoverable. Historical artifact from desktop publishing evolution. Better alternatives available for all uses.
Type 11 Font - variant of PostScript CID-Keyed font format. Used for complex fonts with large character sets. Legacy format for Asian language fonts. Limited modern support. Convert to Unicode OpenType for compatibility. Historical format in CJK font development. Modern alternatives handle large character sets better with Unicode.
Type 42 Font - PostScript font format wrapping TrueType outlines. Hybrid format combining PostScript wrapper with TrueType data. Used for downloading TrueType fonts to PostScript printers. Primarily printer-internal format. Limited end-user relevance. Convert underlying TrueType to TTF/OTF. Historical bridge between TrueType and PostScript worlds.
How to Convert Files
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a PFA file and how does it differ from other Type 1 font formats?
A PFA file is the ASCII or text-based representation of a PostScript Type 1 font.
Unlike the binary PFB version, PFA stores its encrypted and unencrypted sections entirely in readable text form.
This structure made PFA suitable for systems that preferred pure textual data streams.
Why were PFA fonts commonly used on UNIX and early PostScript workflows?
UNIX printers and RIP systems handled ASCII data more reliably than binary transfers.
Text-based fonts integrated smoothly with shell tools and pipeline-based publishing software.
This made PFA the preferred choice for many early enterprise printing environments.
Why can PFA files be larger than their PFB equivalents?
PFA represents hexadecimal data as readable text, which expands file size significantly.
Binary sequences that PFB stores compactly become lengthy ASCII strings in PFA.
This trade-off favored transparency and portability over compactness.
Why do some RIP systems interpret PFA files more predictably than PFB?
ASCII data eliminates the risk of binary misinterpretation caused by different platform encodings.
Older PostScript interpreters were optimized for text streams, making PFA a safe default.
This improved cross-system reliability in large print networks.
Why are PFA files easier to inspect and debug compared to other Type 1 formats?
Their plaintext structure makes it possible to view glyph data, hinting instructions, and metadata with any editor.
Developers could diagnose issues without special binary tools.
This transparency was valuable when debugging early publishing pipelines.
Why do many PFA fonts contain visible encryption markers?
Even though the file is ASCII, Type 1 charstrings remain encrypted using Adobe’s original algorithm.
The encryption is embedded as text instead of binary blocks.
This preserves intellectual property while keeping the file structurally readable.
Why were PFA fonts favored on early printers that transferred data over serial connections?
ASCII streams experienced fewer transmission errors than binary data over slow or noisy serial links.
Control characters in binary files could prematurely terminate a transfer.
PFA avoided these issues entirely by using printable character ranges.
Why must PFA files typically be paired with AFM files for proper desktop use?
PFA stores only glyph outlines and hinting; it does not contain complete metric data.
AFM files provide widths, kerning pairs, and typographic measurements.
Both files together are essential for accurate layout.
Why do professional archives often keep both PFA and PFB versions of the same font?
PFA provides a readable master copy preferred for long-term preservation.
PFB offers compactness and compatibility with older desktop environments.
Maintaining both ensures future accessibility and backward compatibility.
Why is converting PFA to OpenType sometimes more straightforward than converting PFB?
PFA’s textual format allows conversion tools to parse structure without dealing with binary segmentation.
Hex-encoded sections can be processed more consistently across platforms.
This simplifies extraction before rebuilding the outlines into OpenType tables.
Why do some digital foundries release PFA files specifically for UNIX-based typesetting tools?
Many TeX and Ghostscript workflows historically required PFA to ensure compatibility.
These tools rely heavily on text-based pipelines that integrate better with ASCII fonts.
Releasing PFA versions ensured broad accessibility for scientific and academic publishing.
Why do PFA fonts often load slower than binary Type 1 fonts?
ASCII parsing requires more CPU work than reading compact binary structures.
Hexadecimal representation increases the amount of data processed.
Despite this, the reliability advantages justified the performance cost in older environments.
Why can editing a PFA file manually introduce rendering problems?
Even small deviations in the ASCII formatting can invalidate PostScript parsing.
Unintentional whitespace or malformed hex segments may corrupt charstrings.
Precision is required, and manual edits are rarely recommended.
Why do some legacy publishing systems still request PFA despite modern font standards?
Specialized scientific, legal, and archival systems retain dependencies on PostScript text streams.
These environments prioritize deterministic output over modern feature sets.
As a result, PFA remains relevant in niche, stability-focused workflows.
Why is PFA no longer recommended for general-purpose digital typography?
It lacks Unicode coverage, advanced layout tables, and widespread OS support.
Its ASCII structure is inefficient compared to modern, compressed OpenType formats.
For long-term compatibility and feature richness, migrating to OpenType is strongly advised.