Vanished Typeface: Frutiger?

[bababrian808]

SHORT VERSION: I love Frutiger. Where did it "go?" Can't find it on here on Adobe's website.

LONG VERSION: Back when I got my first Mac (1986), I fell in love with creating things using text (and a few other design elements) on a digital page. But, I learned quickly how things were not so simple. Bitmap representations on a so-called WYSIWYG system? Etc. You get the idea.

I was on a tight budget back then ("prison guard" with a family to feed) just like now (poor, and mostly homeless).  But, still, I sprung for Adobe's ATM and chose the Frutiger family for the "package deal" (which also had Cooper Black and some others) some time around 1988 or 1989.

Since then, a divorce (or two), moving dozens and dozens of times (I have lived in my vehicle for months at a time and consider it moving when I park in a different place to sleep), and losing all my possessions (storage at acquaintences who aren't that reliable) and such. You get the idea.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s a lot of media storage was on "floppies." My original Fat Mac is gone. Everything—including my precious Frutiger family of fonts.

I now have a computer and a regular place (or two) to call home and, though I won't necessarily be doing any publishing again soon (while attending UH-H in 2002 as a non-traditional student, "they" saw my "resume" and recruited me to be the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper), I was looking into the possibility I might be able to convince some kind soul at Adobe to let me get my hands on the Frutiger typeface family, again, gratis. But I couldn't find it in their catalog.

Where is it?

I submitted a comment via Adobe's feedback and such, but no response yet. I'm looking for an actual email address and actual person or "title" to contact.

Any suggestions?

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

Adobe no longer licenses the Type 1 version of Frutiger that you licensed over 30 years ago and in fact doesn't license any Type 1 fonts anymore. An OpenType CFF version of the Frutiger family is available on the Adobe FontFolio 11.1 DVD, but Adobe hasn't licensed that font individually for a number of years now. Note that since Adobe licensed Frutiger from Linotype, Adobe isn't free to give away such fonts gratis.

You can license one or more of the Frutiger typeface styles from linotype.com, myfonts.com, fonts.com, and other font foundries. But it won't be gratis. And be aware of any web search that points you to “free downloads” of Frutiger fonts. They are all bootleg! Downloading and using such fonts is illegal.

To solve your problem, you might want to look at the genuinely “free” Google fonts and see if there are any font families close enough in style to what you liked in Frutiger.

Good luck in your new endeavors.

[bababrian808]

Dov:

Thank you for your in-depth and helpful response. 

I found some open source fonts online that might work.