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BenofOld
BenofOld
Participating Frequently
February 16, 2026
Question

Does the old (old, old) Adobe font Carta exist in a version that can be used with current systems?

  • February 16, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 36 views

I am in the LABORIOUS process of resurrecting a very old book document for reprint that used now-outdated fonts. What a nightmare, EVEN when Adobe has available modern fonts—and even ones of the same name! Like Adobe Garamond (c. 1990s) v. Adobe Garamond Pro today. SOOO much manual replacement required——global search and replace is not seeming to work in some cases, perhaps due to the fact the original doc was QuarkXPress and is being opened in InDesign (rather poorly, by the way).

I’m now looking for replacements for Carta (symbols), Frutiger (Adobe, via foundry Linotype), and Optima (source unclear).

???

 

    5 replies

    Mike Witherell
    Community Expert
    Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 18, 2026

    Who else? Monotype, of course. Adobe and Monotype are the 2 giant players in the field of typefaces.

    https://www.myfonts.com/collections/carta-font-adobe/?srsltid=AfmBOoqgK2XfwFdXRwRuy7QNtv2SrwnRjiKo33RmSc4i2uWWsLCuu-Mn

    Mike Witherell
    rob day
    Community Expert
    rob dayCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 18, 2026

    Hi ​@BenofOld , I used the TransType 4 app that ​@Brad @ Roaring Mouse mentioned to convert my large Adobe Type 1 library and it worked very well for updating old documents where I did not want text reflows. You can get a demo here:

    https://www.fontlab.com/font-converter/transtype/?srsltid=AfmBOooxVP6x4iPJ-f0DH_Eqkv0sTZAhxBF5i-dUa9jCE1nNyxkyxvtw

      Brad @ Roaring Mouse
      Community Expert
      Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 18, 2026

      Indeed. Especially useful on symbol fonts because of the glyph realignments in OpenType

      D
      Dirk Becker
      Legend
      February 17, 2026

      Optima rings another bell:

      https://support.apple.com/en-us/120414#:~:text=Optima

      jmlevy
      Community Expert
      jmlevyCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 17, 2026

      Hi ​@BenofOld 
      You can find OpenType versions (so they will work in InDesign) of these fonts here:

      Carta: https://www.myfonts.com/fr/collections/carta-font-adobe/?tab=glyphs

      Frutiger: https://www.myfonts.com/fr/collections/frutiger-tr-font-linotype/?srsltid=AfmBOor61Fu-OBOHduSb6TqWI4psDXgxSNuD6koDCQ2YphhaQzcrgspk

      Optima: https://www.myfonts.com/fr/collections/optima-font-zapf-alphabets/

      BenofOld
      BenofOldAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      February 17, 2026

      Thank you!

      Ben

      BenofOld
      BenofOldAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      February 16, 2026

      Does this old Adobe symbol font exist in a usable modern version anywhere?

      Brad @ Roaring Mouse
      Community Expert
      Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 17, 2026

      Yes, like the others you mentioned, Adobe released OpenType versions of these in 2002-ish (as part of the Font Folio, which is no longer sold). Unfortunately, since then, Adobe no longer licenses many of these fonts from the foundry, so you will need to go to them to get them.

      BenofOld
      BenofOldAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      February 17, 2026

      Brad, thanks for the update. And just who IS the foundry? When I crack open the original font file I have in backup, the only company name I see (in the text that is even readable) is Adobe.

      ??

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