I've been looking for a few good fonts for Photoshop but they want a lot of money for them (I won't post the URL's).. where can I get the same quality fonts for free? It seems all the free ones are ugly once they get rasterized in PS.

PM me. Thanks!

Hey, there is a reason why the free one are ugly...
It takes a lot of work to put up a good font, and it's a job in itself.
More than a job, I'd say, it's almost an art in itself, like drawing.

And yes, peoples and organizations pay to use specific fonts...
And as for a quality font, there are so many variants out there, that you will need to be more precise about what you look for.

http://www.fontstock.net/ seems to be good - there are lots of premium fonts on there going free! I found the site a while ago for someone who didn't want to pay like £30 or something for a font, and the exact same one was there free. That's where I'd go if I ever needed a free font

I don't like the idea of paying for a font, but the thing is, I can't make one myself.

I completely understand people wanting to charge for completely new fonts that they have created, I just think fonts that have been around since computers were invented should be free. I am sure a lot of them are if you find the right site....I will check into that link!

Anyway, a lot of my customers like really unique (heck, I think they are practically unreadable) fonts for their websites since they are mostly boutique type mom shops. Part of the uniqueness of my sites is the cool fonts I have found (fontdinerdotcomsparkly is a fav), but I still have that little PS problem....

I usually don't pay for them, because most of what I need are fonts that I already have.

If I want one, I just ask for it and give Talkupation to whoever sends it to me. It's a form of payment since it improves the poster's rep (and with my TP, I can jolt someone into the stratosphere on here if I want to). So it can work in your favor too.

What font(s) are you looking for? A few? A bunch? If it's just a few, try the TP trick.

We've just shelled out quite a bit for server licences for fonts that are an integral part of our corporate image. IMO if someone has put the time into making a font that you want to use and they want to charge for it then it's only right that you pay them a fair price for it, especially if you are using it as an integral part of your brand identity.

If you are working freelance and using a commercial font then you are getting paid for your time the font creator should expect the same. Your client needs to understand this too.

I have bought a few, but I mostly use dafont to get nice free ones

Same here. I don't see any reason to pay extra for something if I don't have to.
There are tons of free fonts on the web to use if you take the time to look.

If a client asks for a specific font, then I'll buy it. This happens rarely, though.
Most of the time, I'll use what I have on file. I have over 18,000 fonts on disc.
Almost all of them are freeware and nobody's complained yet.

Originally Posted by Monkey Do

If you are working freelance and using a commercial font then you are getting paid for your time the font creator should expect the same. Your client needs to understand this too.

I am with you on this. I would be more than ticked if somone hijacked my art

Yes, I have paid for fonts, sometimes you have to. However, almost all of the fonts I use, and I have thousands, are free and they are not bad fonts in any way, shape or form.

Of course, the "you get what you pay for"-rule applies to fonts as with everything else. But there ARE exceptions! If you just look around a little bit there are lots of great fonts out there for free.

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

I don't like the idea of paying for a font, but the thing is, I can't make one myself.

I tried out FontCreator and found that it was definitely worth the investment for the full version. And if you are familiar with vectors it's not a hard program to learn.

The first thing I created on it was a commercial font for a local restaurant, creating the rest of the character set based on their logo. Turned out great.

But if you're looking for PostScript fonts, prepare to pay. Then again, companies I've had a longstanding relationship with will let me use their proprietary fonts, so long as I use them only for them.

i didnt used too, but i purchased a program for like $29 for 15,000 fonts, so being agraphic designer, that was good value for money

if you search for free fonts, you will get loads of sites........some are payable for particular fonts.......rest all gets easily......






All the best

There are times that you really have to pay, but there are sites that offer freebies. I usually go to Dafont.com. Well I can't recommend this site enough but it has loads of free fonts well-sorted out in various categories and sub-categories. I've included the link below directly to the graffiti fonts section. Hope this helps.

http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=606

www.betterfonts.com is good

Design is always evolving, and as such, so is the art form of typography.

Think of it as a designer pair of shoes. You're paying for something that is unique and as such, you pay for the style. Many companies, including my own, will either pay money for rights to a specific font, or hire a freelance typographer to design a font style.

Serandfae mentioned PostScript fonts. Often times, a lot of the freebie fonts you find online are perfect for web interfaces... but convert really horribly to printed materials. Some of you are probably only creating websites... but if you create a logo for a website, you should always consider the type style for print as well.

MonkeyDo also mentioned brand identity, which is what my company mainly deals with. Sometimes, paying for a font, or paying to have one made, ensures that you can also make a profit off of that sale. Either you're distributing the font to a client for a small fee, or you're charging the client for a new font design. If you sell a logo to a client without the font, then you're not really helping the client... likewise, if you sell a font to a client that you hacked, you're committing infringement.

My suggestions is to be careful with using designer fonts you acquire for free. Moral: Pay for your fonts if you need to, otherwise, find similar, free "substitues." :P