For which purpose and which printing condition?

Garamonde Premiere Pro from Adobe is the most extensive Garamond interpretation and close to the original. Its outlines have subtitles that are best fit for good printing conditions. For general office use Adobe Garamond Pro might be the better choice, if you don't need opticals (versions for small text and big headlines) or italic small caps.

However, if you print in a language with diacritical marks, then you might check if those characters collide with a previous lowercase /f/ of the two Adobe Garamonds and use a different version of Garamond. In that case I would advise you to resort to Sabon or to Stempel Garamond. A free version of Stempel Garamond, which has some flaws however, can be found on garamond.org, which is an updated version of the original – and older version – in the URW font package: Garamond Nr.8

Monotype Garamond and the pre-packed Garamond on Windows and Mac are actually “mistitled”, they are no Garamond, they are designed by Jannon, a historical confusion.

Consider the medium, and the client.
Choose a version which you have seen in a particular medium, and liked (performance varies by medium), and one which has a suitable tone for your project—there are some which are bookish, others which are more corporate, still others which are more suitable for retail.

Bear in mind that not all Garamonds have Garamond in the name, e.g. Sabon, Verdigris.

In the spirit of Nick's last remark, the following fonts are inspired by Garamond, but are not close to the original, instead they are rather free interpretations:

Merlo by Felciano Type Foundry
Lyon Text and Lyon Display by Commercial Type
Rawlinson (Garamond and Plantin influences) by Terminal Design
Fabiol by Lazydogs Typefoundry
FF Reminga

Other Garamonds that aim to be classic are:

Augereau
GaramondFB by FontBureau
Granjon
Aragon by Canada Type
DB Serif

Primarily for publications such as brochures and newsletters. In addition to that it will be used for larger pieces such as banners and signage. The print conditions will be good. Never on newsprint or anything like that. I started a new job recently and my company uses Garamond in it's branding.

I have multiple versions on my computer which is why I am confused. I want to make sure I am using the best version. I have Simoncini Garamond, Garamond Premiere Pro, Adobe Garamond Pro, ITC Garamond, Garamond, and GaramondThree. That is a lot of versions. And I didn't even know that it was released under other names too. That gives me even more to chose from. Good to know though.

Thanks for the advice Nick. I will read online and see if I can find out more about each one and that will help me chose the right version for the job.

Perhaps this categorization will help you a bit:

http://typophile.com/node/80840

Thank you for the resource. It will be helpful. It is incredible how many version of Garamond there are.

If the company's brand uses "Garamond" without being more specific, and you have all those variants at your disposal, this can only mean one thing — playtime!

When setting a headline or text, pit several variants against one another, tweaking each according to its needs to try and make it the best looking. For heads, play with kerning and tracking, for text, h&j's.

You might even consider mixing them up in the same document.

Flooce, I believe DB Serif is a private font for Deutsche Bahn use only? If not, I may just have become the happiest person in the world.

Hi Eric

- what Peter Larson said.

And a shameless plug for more background reference should you need it.

From the resources you say you have at your disposal, try to avoid the ITC Garamond (also Apple Garamond if you have it); they are both artificially condensed and look weird on the line. I have never used the Simoncini, so wouldn't comment, but the Garamond Three is a Linotype digitisation of the the old ATF Garamond, which, like the Monotype Garamond (as Peter says) is a historical misattribution. That leaves Garamond Premiere Pro and Adobe Garamond Pro, both of which will serve you well in a variety of weights, styles, sizes and applications.

There is also LP Old Claude for when you get bored...

…try to avoid the ITC Garamond…

ITC Garamond is a brilliant Postmodern interpretation.
It has more pizzazz than the sober Adobe Garamonds, and may be just what you need.
The condensed styles are a tour-de-force, so unusual for a garalde.
As I said, try it and make up your own mind.

The Condensed is not artificial, as can be seen by scaling it horizontally to the same width as the normal:

I think ITC Garamond only works as a display type. I had a book with it as text, and it was pretty awful.

I was always surprised how well ITC Garamond worked for the small text in the MacWarehouse catalog (that would be in the early '90s), as in my prior experience with it as phototype it usually fell apart in small text, due to the limitations of that process, which were overcome by direct-to-plate laser imaging. With digital, it was suddenly like the printed offset image had the detail that was previously only visible in an RC (resin coated) proof.

Cale I am afraid I need to disappoint you, you are right, DB Serif is not available, as it is stated on the linked site: “Not available for relicensing.” To my eyes Garamond from Fontbureau shares some similar qualities though.

The Vienna Opera uses ITC Garamond as well, but I suppose they are not a reference for contemporary design.

Also EB Garamond on Google Web Fonts :)

http://typophile.com/node/79542