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Font Management - What the Pros Use
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Professional vs. Basic Font Managers.
Basic Needs
Basic font managers–like Apple’s Font Book™ — are typically adequate if you work with fonts infrequently or on a very basic level.
Professional Needs
If you work with professional tools like Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe InDesign®, or QuarkXPress® regularly–there are things that your professional font manager should deliver so you can do your job.
The Professional Font Manager
Unlike Font Book that was not designed to meet the needs of professional creatives, professional font managers will provide the precision and control needed in your workflow. They will help you avoid content reflow and missing glyph issues because you can rely on exact auto-activation when opening and working in your Illustrator, InDesign and QuarkXPress documents. There are many more features, like activating fonts in embedded PDF or EPS files, which are designed to help professional creatives get their jobs done.
Features of Professional Font Manager
- Automatically activate exact versions of fonts—predictably, every time
- Auto-activate (and deactivate) fonts in the latest creative applications you're using today (like Adobe Creative Suite® 3, QuarkXPress 7, etc.)
- Store your fonts in a secure database
- Easily address missing fonts or font conflicts
- Be optimized for the latest operating systems -- Mac OS X® 10.5 (Leopard) and Microsoft® Vista®
Of course, there are many other differences between professional and basic font management. Some of the most important are highlighted below.
Font Management
Best Practices Guide
4th Edition
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Professional Font
Auto-Activation |
Basic Font Auto-Activation |
| Exact Font Matching |
Uses “Intelligent” font identification such as Font
Sense™—uses multiple criteria, such as font type,
foundry, version, etc. to ensure exact font matches. |
Uses “Non-intelligent” font identification—activates
the first font it comes across with the same
PostScript or font menu name. |
| Secure & Controlled Database |
Can choose to activate only the fonts housed in the font manager’s location, this ensures that you are activating only the clean, optimized fonts that you want to use. |
Activates fonts located in any folder; can be different
every time. |
| Auto-Activation Controls |
Utilizes plug-in (or XTension) based auto-activation that provide important options and controls for the user, including options for auto de-activation and font conflict resolution. Professional auto-activation also allows activated fonts in Adobe and Quark Products to be available to other applications. |
Offers very limited or no auto-activation controls.
Font Book™ activates a font only to the
requesting application. The font will not show in any
other application unless required by a document
opened in that application. When the application
quits, the font gets deactivated. |
| Fonts in Embedded Objects |
Auto-activates fonts that are in a document’s
embedded objects (such as in PDF or EPS files). |
Will not auto-activate fonts in embedded objects. |
| Activate Font Families |
Can be set to activate an entire font family, allowing
all variations (bold, italic, etc.) of the font to be
available to use in a document. (Available in Font
Reserve™ only right now) |
Font family auto-activation option is not available. |
| Professional Font Management |
Offered by Extensis desktop and server font
managers: Suitcase Fusion, Suitcase for Windows,
Font Reserve Server and Suitcase Server |
Not offered by basic font managers. |
Get greater detail on font auto-activation and Font Sense.
For more insight into what a professional font manager should be,
hear straight from our Product Manager.
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