Sounds like a case of pirated fonts.

Hanlon's Razor.

Will there be any corruption (in kerns or anything) if I convert all the fonts to opentype with a software Font XChange?

The font names within families will get screwed up and every font will be its own family. Your kerning will probably be ok if you actually have good kerning files for the Postscript fonts to begin with. And the Truetype fonts should be left alone.

Sounds like a case of pirated fonts.

My thoughts exactly. Start by cutting the entire firm down to the fonts the business has receipts for and delete everything else. Synchronize everyone on one small set of legit fonts, buy more as needed, and manage all fonts from one server instead of spreading them around.

If you don’t nail this down now it will bite you on the ass later. Either a big job will get screwed up because of problems with the crazy font collection or somebody will notice an unlicensed font in a job and you or your client will get a bill, or worse, served with legal papers.

I would heap all those fonts into one folder (preferably on a separate standalone disk-dribe) and when a job comes around where you need a font, search that for the best option (pref a late version OT, Pro or Extended) and copy that to your workstation. That will also give you occasion to check whether it is a legally acquired font.

To make things easier you could make in inventory of all the stuff you have in the form of an automatically made specimen book. There is s/w to help you do that.

Do NOT do your own conversions to OT. Lots of problems in practice, eg missing euro-signs, etc.

Sounds like a case of pirated fonts.

I've asked around and some of them are like you guys said were pirated -_- And most of the others were got corrupted when they were localizing or something else. I actually stopped listening when I've heard they someone was fiddling with the original fonts. I'll have a talk with the studio director to legalize fonts. I prefer not to work rather then designing with pirated stuff.

Thanks everyone!

There is A LOT to learn from working with only a few carefully selected fonts, as opposed to the usual scrolling-through-font-list-design. Get familiar with the historical classifications, what ideas informed the type designer and why a particular face works better in a particular situation, and you’ll start understanding what exactly you should look for when that next project needs 6 pt. text typeset on uncoated paper printed on an outdated laserjet from the late eighties. Furthermore, you’ll start designing — not just copying the latest trend.

(That last part is not necessarily intended for you :)

frode frank said it better than I could. I wouldn't worry about what font manager to use too much, or even if you need one. Personally, I use Suitcase Fusion 3 and keep a couple different Libraries. A 'Library' in that app is like switching to a completely different set of preferences. So, I have a 'Junk' library with unlicensed/dodgy fonts that I might occasionally refer back to to handle old projects or something. This is a giant list of fonts--unusable for commercial design work. I also have a 'Production' library, which is the fonts I'm likely to use on a day-to-day basis. Its still more fonts than I want active all the time, and I like Suitcase's features for organizing them.

Disclaimer: I don't work for Extensis, but I used to.

oh wow, frode frank. you just sounded like one of my great mentor/teacher. I never got the chance -I mean guts- to ask something like this to her before. I think I'll ask this detail to you; are there any specific typeface's that I can exercise designing? I always hated scrolling a huge font list back in the school.

are there any specific typeface's that I can exercise designing?

I'm not sure ir I understand what you mean.

My guess: A short list of faces for design exercises.

One option is to start with a modern take on the main historical classifications:

• A venetian or old style/humanist serif: Arno Pro by Robert Slimbach
• A transitional serif: Whitman by Kent Lew
• A didone/modern serif: Ingeborg by Typejockeys

• A humanist sans: Fresco Sans by Fred Smeijers
• A geometric sans: Superla by Herr Karl-Heinz Lange
• A grotesque sans: Theinhardt by François Rappo

• A humanist slab: Charlie by Ross Milne
• A geometric slab: Memphis by Rudolf Wolf
• A grotesque slab or Clarendon: Serifa by Adrian Frutiger

Now you gotta connect the dots.