By the power of Font Snobs!

anamardoll · 06-05-2011, 03:34 PM

Fellow Mobile Read Font Snobs, will you please help me?

I'm trying to replace the stock font on the Sony PRS-950 via this guide, but I'm having trouble finding a good, free font that is:

1. Free.
2. Has at least 4 basic font styles. (normal, italic, bold, bold italic)
3. Is a sans serif font similar to Calibri or Candara.

Any and all help would be so very welcome. Thank you!

Giggleton · 06-05-2011, 04:01 PM

Why not just use Calibri?

anamardoll · 06-05-2011, 04:43 PM

Because it's not available for free download that I can see.

RichL · 06-05-2011, 04:52 PM

This site may work for you

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/03/d...s-legally.html

Enjoy
Rich L

Leyor · 06-05-2011, 04:57 PM

Calibri (the font) is free with MS office, or MS office viewer or MS office compatibility pack

anamardoll · 06-05-2011, 04:57 PM

Font. Calibri. Not Calibre.

But thank you.

anamardoll · 06-05-2011, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leyor

Calibri (the font) is free with MS office, or MS office viewer or MS office compatibility pack

Where does Windows store the TTF so that I can retrieve and use it? I admit to being utterly unschooled in this area.

LOVE my new Sony, but interesting that the font stuff is so...interestingly integrated.

RichL · 06-05-2011, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Font. Calibri. Not Calibre.

But thank you.

Yaa I got to excited. Read again for the proper link.

Leyor · 06-05-2011, 05:06 PM

If you dont have Office just install this:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/e...displaylang=en

If you have it, its in your font folder. usually under c:\\windows\fonts

kacir · 06-05-2011, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Fellow Mobile Read Font Snobs, will you please help me?

I am NOT a font snob. Honestly. Not at all ;-).
But I will try to help you anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I'm trying to replace the stock font on the Sony PRS-950 via this guide, but I'm having trouble finding a good, free font that is:

1. Free.
2. Has at least 4 basic font styles. (normal, italic, bold, bold italic)
3. Is a sans serif font similar to Calibri or Candara.

Any and all help would be so very welcome. Thank you!

- Recently our fellow Mobilereader Farhad pointed out Ubuntu Font Family http://font.ubuntu.com/ . I was sceptical at first, because some letters are quite unusual. Like 'r', 't', 'f'. The font is made by professional foundry and a lot of effort went to manually hinting the font. I am using it for reading ever since and it is *very* nicely balanced font. When I read, I like font that disappears. There mustn't be any irregularity, no funny characters, nothing that would draw my attention.

- on the above page there is link to the google.webfonts. They have lots of interesting fonts there. Some of them good enough for a font snob. Not that I am one ;-)

- Recently I have been reading in Ubuntu font, but my all time favourite is Gentium Book Basic. Again very nice font. I am not sure if you would call it sanserif, but have a look. You have to try it for reading for at least a couple of days.

- Droid font is also a nice choice. I am not sure if there are all four variants for sanserif. On serif Droid, serifs are nice and blocky, well suited to e-ink
Droid is free, but you have to look for it. It was developed by professional foundry and was paid for by Google. Google uses it as the main font for Android. It is well suited for displaying lots of info on a small screen. To me it looks a bit cramped, but ...

- have a look at Lexia Dama. Very, very similar to Caecilia on Kindle. Slabserif.

- many people here like Fontin. It is difficult to say whether it is serif or sanserif.

- You can also get fonts from your windows. Microsoft installs quite a few interesting high-quality fonts that are optimised for screen. They have enough money to pay for high quality fonts from a good foundry. They wrote book on Hinting and other things that might appeal to font snobs. If you do not have Vista or Windows 7, or the newest MSOffice you can download and install PowerPoint viewer (even under Wine) and it will install fonts. I am not sure if the use on your reader is kosher, but nobody is going to prosecute you.

- You can get fonts that are Linux alternatives to Windows fonts, like Linux libertine, dejavu sans, ...
Decent fonts, but nothing special IMHO.

One last observation.
To see if the font is good for reading on *your* e-ink device you have to test it on that device. I acquired ;-) many fonts - I still have contacts in publishing / graphics companies and my friends have access to nice fonts. Some fonts that look gorgeous on paper (or even on other readers) look bad on my reader. It might be caused by hinting info that is not used correctly by software in my reader, it might be caused by fact that the font is optimised for printing and not a low-res screen. Other fonts that I have tried look much better on my e-ink than anywhere else.

kacir · 06-05-2011, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Where does Windows store the TTF so that I can retrieve and use it? I admit to being utterly unschooled in this area.

It depends on your particular Windows flavour.
Somewhere inside your C:\Windows folder there should be Fonts folder.

Get program called TotalCommander (shareware) and search for *.ttf on C:\ drive. Make sure that you configure TotalCommander to show hidden and system folders.

Purple Lady · 06-05-2011, 05:55 PM

I like the DejaVu sans fonts on my 950. I also use the Adjust View Custom and set the top number to 75 and the bottom to -75 to make the font a little darker. You can download them here.

CWatkinsNash · 06-05-2011, 06:16 PM

Ana, the Kindle also requires 4 variations for fonts, though the naming convention may be different. The reason why I bring this up is there is much discussion about various fonts people use on the Kindle, so searching those out on the web might give you some more ideas of what others find pleasant to use on eink readers.

Kacir mentioned Droid. I don't care for it, but for reference, the package I downloaded from Google Webfonts had four variants, but one of them required renaming for use on my Kindle. That's all I know.

anamardoll · 06-05-2011, 06:22 PM

Thank you, all!

Kacir, I was specifically thinking of that Ubuntu Font Family discussion when I wrote my post, but I couldn't find it ANYWHERE. I remember it being in the PocketBook forum, but that was it. Thank you for the link and for jogging my memory!

I'm REALLY liking that Fontin one -- gonna try to load that to the Sony 950. Wish me luck.

redbees · 06-05-2011, 06:29 PM

anamardoll,

Good luck with your font change operation!

If you don't mind, could please add updates concerning your progress/success? I have been fearful of trying PRS+ and perhaps should try this method instead. I, too, am drawn to Fontin, and LexiaDaMa also. Thanks for to the link to Valloric's guide. I'd better read it now.

06-05-2011, 03:34 PM	#1
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	By the power of Font Snobs! Fellow Mobile Read Font Snobs, will you please help me? I'm trying to replace the stock font on the Sony PRS-950 via this guide, but I'm having trouble finding a good, free font that is: 1. Free. 2. Has at least 4 basic font styles. (normal, italic, bold, bold italic) 3. Is a sans serif font similar to Calibri or Candara. Any and all help would be so very welcome. Thank you!

06-05-2011, 04:52 PM	#4
RichL Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 1096520 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: back to x51v	This site may work for you http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/03/d...s-legally.html Enjoy Rich L Last edited by RichL; 06-05-2011 at 05:00 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Thackeray, William Makepeace: The Book of Snobs. v1, 12 May 2008	HarryT	BBeB/LRF Books	1	05-12-2008 04:19 PM
Thackeray, William Makepeace: The Book of Snobs. v1, 12 May 2008	HarryT	Kindle Books	0	05-12-2008 07:45 AM
Thackeray, W.M.: The Book of Snobs. v1, 15 Jan 2008	Madam Broshkina	IMP Books	0	01-15-2008 09:02 PM
Thackeray, W.M.: The Book of Snobs. v1, 15 Jan 2008	Madam Broshkina	Kindle Books	0	01-15-2008 09:01 PM
Thackeray, W.M.: The Book of Snobs. v1, 15 Jan 2008	Madam Broshkina	BBeB/LRF Books	0	01-15-2008 08:58 PM

06-05-2011, 04:01 PM	#2
Giggleton Banned Posts: 1,687 Karma: 4368191 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Oregon Device: Kindle3	Why not just use Calibri?

06-05-2011, 04:43 PM	#3
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Because it's not available for free download that I can see.

06-05-2011, 04:57 PM	#5
Leyor Ninja Librarian Posts: 179 Karma: 347750 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denmark Device: Sony PRS-950, Cybook 3. gen, Sony T1, Kindle Paperwhite	Calibri (the font) is free with MS office, or MS office viewer or MS office compatibility pack

06-05-2011, 04:57 PM	#6
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Font. Calibri. Not Calibre. But thank you.

06-05-2011, 05:06 PM	#9
Leyor Ninja Librarian Posts: 179 Karma: 347750 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denmark Device: Sony PRS-950, Cybook 3. gen, Sony T1, Kindle Paperwhite	If you dont have Office just install this: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/e...displaylang=en If you have it, its in your font folder. usually under c:\\windows\fonts

06-05-2011, 05:55 PM	#12
Purple Lady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,698 Karma: 16542228 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pennsylvania Device: Huawei MediaPad M5, LG V30, Boyue T80S, Nexus 7 LTE, K3 3G, Fire HD8	I like the DejaVu sans fonts on my 950. I also use the Adjust View Custom and set the top number to 75 and the bottom to -75 to make the font a little darker. You can download them here.

06-05-2011, 06:16 PM	#13
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Ana, the Kindle also requires 4 variations for fonts, though the naming convention may be different. The reason why I bring this up is there is much discussion about various fonts people use on the Kindle, so searching those out on the web might give you some more ideas of what others find pleasant to use on eink readers. Kacir mentioned Droid. I don't care for it, but for reference, the package I downloaded from Google Webfonts had four variants, but one of them required renaming for use on my Kindle. That's all I know.

06-05-2011, 06:22 PM	#14
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Thank you, all! Kacir, I was specifically thinking of that Ubuntu Font Family discussion when I wrote my post, but I couldn't find it ANYWHERE. I remember it being in the PocketBook forum, but that was it. Thank you for the link and for jogging my memory! I'm REALLY liking that Fontin one -- gonna try to load that to the Sony 950. Wish me luck.

06-05-2011, 06:29 PM	#15
redbees Enthusiast Posts: 128 Karma: 52196 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: US Device: Paperwhite 2, Nexus 7	anamardoll, Good luck with your font change operation! If you don't mind, could please add updates concerning your progress/success? I have been fearful of trying PRS+ and perhaps should try this method instead. I, too, am drawn to Fontin, and LexiaDaMa also. Thanks for to the link to Valloric's guide. I'd better read it now.

Advert

Advert