Typophile

Adobe / Linotype / Monotype

raa

I know some would be bored by this question but as a consequence of A) being something of a perfectionist and B) still not having enough experience with type, I just can't pick up a typeface from one of the mentioned foundries/vendors and not think about whether the others' versions of the same would be better.

There has to be at least a hundred classical typefaces being offered by all three if not even more vendors. Sometimes it should really be the same digitalization because they share(d) licenses, LT is owned by MT etc. but often there are differences between the designs. Do you have a general rule of thumb you can apply here when choosing? E.g. Monotype has older versions and Adobe or LT had technically improved them or LT is more like ___ while Adobe is more ___? Or like one pays more atention to kerning, the other has the original designs... these questions drive me crazy and I just can't spend half my working time comparing the cuts everytime I need a new typeface ;-)

Nick Curtis

Perfectionist, n. A person who takes great pains, and then gives them to others.

Sorry: there's no easy answer to your question. As with automobile manufacturers, no one company dominates all categories: one company may make the best pick-up truck, while another makes the best mid-size family sedan...

James Montalbano

And following up on the auto analogy, sometimes a Chevy and a Buick are the same car, made by the same foundry, oops, I mean factory, with only the nameplate being the difference.

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…these questions drive me crazy and I just can't spend half my working time comparing the cuts everytime I need a new typeface

So don't use them. Instead of trying to find the least mediocre of metal type revivals just use really great new designs. You'll end up with better work in the long run.

Bert Vanderveen

DTF has a point. Avoid the big names, buy from smaller foundries and individual designers -- you will have a better type collection and offer nicer choices to your clients.

At least, that's what I do…

Stephen Coles

It all depends on the typeface. Some were designed first or better at one foundry, others at another.

Nick Shinn

It's not just a question of one foundry's cut of a particular face being better than another's, they may well be different interpretations which appeal to different people for different reasons, and to the same person on different occasions.

But choosing a font isn't the be-all and end-all. Once you have decided on a font, if you've never used it before you still have to become familiar working with it, and experiment with the setting for the job in hand. So why not trust your instinct in the first place, and then trust your skill to make your choice work, rather than second-guessing yourself to distraction.

John Nolan

Another thing to consider when choosing between foundries is the different EULAs...they're NOT all the same.

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Avoid the big names, buy from smaller foundries and individual designers…

There are plenty of good designs with the big vendors. I just think it’s a lot more productive to just focus on obviously good new designs than to spend a lot of time inspecting various digital revivals of phototype revivals of Linotype revivals of foundry type revivals of much older designs.

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