... convert these glyphs in this image to a TTF ...

... how exactly does it cost over $150 to add a few bits of gray to a glyph??

So what do you want, exactly? TTF fonts are regular fonts -- outlines, which are usually filled with black. The only "raster" images inside are low-resolution optimised bitmaps. (Disregarding, for the moment, recent non-standard additions of PNG bitmaps.) Regular TTF fonts can be displayed by any software that support fonts. You will get grayscale at the discretion of the software used, its settings, and the size you display it at (some software automatically disables antialiasing at larger sizes).

A raster font, on the other hand, is pretty much what your image shows: a single bitmap or a list of bitmaps, which need custom software support to display.

I want it in TTF form, but be able to preserve its rasterized shape. The gray colors are meant to be the same color as the letters, but at a lower opacity.

Also, sorry about the miseading title, it's supposed to read "Need image to be converted into a font". It's been a tiresome two days looking for something that can easily do this without being limited to a demo, requesting you pay them an absurd amount before you're able to save your small, free font in a usable form...

This sort of thing isn't simple at all (and will not work robustly, FYI).
What's your budget?

hhp

Most rendering environments these days won't preserve your intended gray-scale pixel pattern no matter what you do. Plus, it is *way* non-trivial. Basically, what Hrant said.

Currently, the only thing I can think of that would fit is an Apple-style emoji font, but you'd almost certainly need to be an iJunkie to get any use out of that.

(And, yes, I'm not an Apple fan, or fan of single-sourced stuff in general.)

amer89, as you may have understood by now, TTF does not support transparent sections.

Would a solution such as this be acceptable? (This one 'A' took me about 10 minutes -- multiply by 256 to get your entire character set.)

An alternative, with dots instead of lines:

Stochastic screening! :-)

BTW, the way the Ultrafonts method worked (what I used for my Mana* series) was to divide the pixel into a 4×4 subgrid, using specific patterns that ensured predictable gray outcomes on all major systems... before OSX went full-fuzz, dragging Windows (half-way) down with it eventually.

* http://www.themicrofoundry.com/manademo/

hhp

Great idea with the lines... maybe with small squares even better, dots don't seem to work...