THE BASICS

Let’s go over the two most basic things you’ll need to know about single line fonts: the styles that fonts come in, and the file formats used for font and alphabet sets.

FONT STYLES

Here we’ll take a look at common terms for various types of fonts. (Not limited to single line fonts!)

OUTLINE: Also sometimes referred to as REGULAR or NORMAL fonts. Each glyph is a closed vector shape, drawn from the start point and ending at the same point. When used in print, the inside of the shape is filled in with a color.  When used in cutting or engraving, the outline is cut or engraved, leaving an empty area inside.

SINGLE LINE or SINGLE STROKE: An open vector path where the letter is drawn from a start point to an end point, and the start and end do not meet. This is a true single line, but most design programs don’t understand or know what to do with a true single line font; the program will see the character, believe it’s incomplete, and will connect the start and end points with a straight line. Very few programs can understand a true single stroke typeable font.

DOUBLE LINE or DOUBLE STROKE: These have the appearance of a single line font, but the vector path is closed. The letter is drawn from the start point to the end point, then doubles back over the exact same path back to the start point. A double stroke font has the look of a single line (no matter how large you scale it up), but its closed path is friendly to nearly every vector design program and machine layout program out there.

MONOLINE or MONOWEIGHT: An outline font where the width of the stroke is consistent throughout the entire letter. This stroke width is often relatively thin. Some fonts that are advertised as “single line” are actually very thin monoline fonts; they may appear to be a single line at a very small size, but when sized up, the full outline will be apparent.

HAIRLINE: This term is used in two different ways. It can either refer to a double line/double stroke font, or it can refer to a very very thin monoline font. If it’s the thin monoline type, it may still be usable for single line projects if it’s used at very small sizes, but when sized up, the full outline will be apparent.

FILE TYPES

This list includes both font file types and vector file types. Depending on the software you are using and the design you’re creating, you may prefer to use an installed font that you can type with, or you might instead want to have a vector file with the full alphabet available, so you can copy, paste, and move characters around at your convenience. Some programs work better with one type or the other, so be sure to take a look at the software guides to see what kind of file will work best for you!

TTF: Acronym for “TrueType Font.” This is the earlier type of vector-style font, originally developed by Apple. The vector shapes of the characters are made with TrueType curves. Modern TTF files contain OpenType features, which makes them virtually identical to OTF fonts. Older TTF files (we’re talking, like, pre-2000) may be more limited in their content. So if your software only allows TTF files, you’re still fine!

OTF: Acronym for “OpenType Font.” This is a newer font format derived from the older TrueType format. The vector characters use PostScript curves (the type you’ll be familiar with from most vector design programs like Adobe Illustrator). OpenType supports a variety of features such as extended Unicode characters, OpenType coding for things like alternates and ligatures, variable outlines, and color glyphs.

OPF: Acronym for “Open Path Font.” This is a hard-to-find file format that isn’t used by very many programs. It contains a true single line font with open contours. The most well-known program that can use them is Sure Cuts a Lot, version 4 and above.

SVG (file format): Acronym for “Scalable Vector Graphics.” This is one of the most popular vector image formats, especially when it comes to design software and cutting machine programs. It was originally developed as an image format for web browsers, which is why many computers default to opening them with your default browser. (You can change that! See my video about it on YouTube.) Some color fonts are referred to as “SVG fonts,” but those are still delivered in OTF file formats.

SVG (font format): There are a scattered few programs out there that can use a font encoded into an SVG file. The one I think is used most is Inkscape, using the Hershey Text extension. But there aren’t very many of this type of font to be found, since they’re a bit more difficult than most other formats to create.

EPS: Acronym for “Encapsulated PostScript.” An EPS file can contain both vector and raster data, so they aren’t necessarily the best choice when you’re working entirely in vector. The format can also include embedded scripts, so some programs refuse to support them due to safety concerns. When in doubt, use a different format.

DXF: Acronym for “Drawing Exchange Format” or “Drawing Interchange Format.” This is a CAD (computer-aided design) file format developed by Autodesk. It’s an older vector file format, which isn’t supported by as many programs since newer formats have come onto the scene. Decent if you have no other choice, but there may be other formats that are a better option.

PDF: Acronym for “Portable Document Format.” I’ve mainly included this file type in the list because some fonts will come with a PDF showing all of the characters in that font. You can use that PDF to copy/paste the harder-to-type items like fancy alternates or multi-character ligatures into your design program of choice.