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Danny Whitehead.
Danny Whitehead.
Legend
November 7, 2017
Answered

Variable Fonts

  • November 7, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 6518 views

So, a decade or two after the tragic demise of Multiple Master fonts, they've finally been reborn in the form of variable fonts... in Photoshop and Illustrator, but not InDesign.

I know this is more of a feature request, but is anyone else as excited about them as I am? When will we get them in InDesign? Will there be another row in the Hyphenation & Justification settings, similar to 'Glyph Scaling', that lets us define minimum and maximum widths for fonts that support it like Acumin and Myriad?

      This topic has been closed for replies.
      Correct answer Dov Isaacs

      I have “played with” a number of these fonts both from Adobe and elsewhere and believe that there are tremendous possibilities once there is clear end-to-end workflow support for OpenType Variable fonts.

       

      You can use those fonts now in real print work, but be advised that the variable fonts supplied with Adobe applications at this point are pretty much duplicated in the standard font offerings from Adobe. Plus, the current “concept fonts” are not full fonts in terms of glyph complements and are subject to change significantly by the time they are released as somthing other than “concept” fonts. For example, Minion Pro, Myriad Pro, and Acumin all have many more glyphs and OpenType features that their current “concept” brethren. Furthermore, you can't do any manipulation of the text in Acrobat after the fact.

       

      As I previously said I would treat the “Variable Fonts” in Illustrator and Photoshop and now InDesign to be experimental/exploratory.

       

      1 reply

      Dov Isaacs
      Dov Isaacs
      Legend
      November 7, 2017

      Personal opinion …

       

      At this point, consider the implementation of the “Variable Fonts” in Illustrator and Photoshop to be experimental/exploratory.

       

      The OpenType Variable Fonts are absolutely not supported as part of the PDF 2.0 specification and if and when such support comes, it may be a few years away. Ironically, if you do use the “concept” OpenType Variable Fonts in Illustrator and you save as PDF, what is embedded is (oy vey, hold onto your hats) something similar to Multiple Master instances of Type 1 fonts. Text formatted in such fonts is not editable in Acrobat!

       

      t will be a while before or if this technology becomes available in InDesign and certainly before it becomes mainstream for PDF publishing workflows.

       

      - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
        Danny Whitehead.
        Danny Whitehead.Author
        Legend
        November 10, 2017

        Thanks for the insight, Dov. It's nice to hear that Multiple Masters still alive somewhere, at least!

        At this point would you say it's safe to use the 'Concept' fonts in real print work, for instance to create type lockups in Illustrator? Or would it be safer to convert to outlines (I know, I know, but I wouldn't be talking lots of small body text)?

        Dov Isaacs
        Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
        Legend
        March 1, 2020

        I have “played with” a number of these fonts both from Adobe and elsewhere and believe that there are tremendous possibilities once there is clear end-to-end workflow support for OpenType Variable fonts.

         

        You can use those fonts now in real print work, but be advised that the variable fonts supplied with Adobe applications at this point are pretty much duplicated in the standard font offerings from Adobe. Plus, the current “concept fonts” are not full fonts in terms of glyph complements and are subject to change significantly by the time they are released as somthing other than “concept” fonts. For example, Minion Pro, Myriad Pro, and Acumin all have many more glyphs and OpenType features that their current “concept” brethren. Furthermore, you can't do any manipulation of the text in Acrobat after the fact.

         

        As I previously said I would treat the “Variable Fonts” in Illustrator and Photoshop and now InDesign to be experimental/exploratory.

         

        - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
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