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Need help to convert icons into a font...
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You'll need a tool like TypeTool ($99) or even one of the more pricier font editors like Fontographer or even FontLab Studio...
Saying that, I managed to get a handful of symbols converted to a font with the TypeTool demo alone. You can import paths direct from eps files (Illustrator 8 compatible worked well).
The demo is crippled though so unless you feel like spending money, then it can be a frustrating exercise.
http://fontlab.com/TypeTool/TypeTool/Download-TypeTool/
Saying that, I managed to get a handful of symbols converted to a font with the TypeTool demo alone. You can import paths direct from eps files (Illustrator 8 compatible worked well).
The demo is crippled though so unless you feel like spending money, then it can be a frustrating exercise.
http://fontlab.com/TypeTool/TypeTool/Download-TypeTool/
appleretailguy said:
You'll need to export them all as Illustrator 8 EPS files first. Be warned though, the entire process is time-consuming and involves some trial and error, particularly with setting icons on the baseline or just below it if you need them to.
With the demo, you can't see which glyphs have the product logo over them until the font is created.
If you're in a work situation, it may be worth farming this out to someone.
To be honest, after I spent a while working out how to use the software and getting a reliable font out of it... it didn't seem worth the effort.
All of our logos are stored in a variety of formats on a server that are easily dropped into any page-layout app. Having them as a font didn't make things that easier, especially as you then had to view the glyphs separately to find the one you wanted... where it does come in handy is to give to other people who are using MS Office on PCs and cannot scale artwork without distorting it in the process.
How many symbols do you want to do?
All of our logos are stored in a variety of formats on a server that are easily dropped into any page-layout app. Having them as a font didn't make things that easier, especially as you then had to view the glyphs separately to find the one you wanted... where it does come in handy is to give to other people who are using MS Office on PCs and cannot scale artwork without distorting it in the process.
How many symbols do you want to do?
appleretailguy said:
Fontographer is the absolute best bet, I think. But it sure is pricey. The quick and dirty way to do this is to pick a font that you like already, and just paste the new "letter" over an old one. That way the kerning/tracking/baseline is already set and you don't have to fool with it.
having said that, are you asking how it's done i.e. what specific steps you need to go through?
EDIT: nevermind...I missed a post in which you explained your mission.
That's not too bad.
In that case, if you use the demo, place identical symbols in 3-4 different glyphs so that when it's exported you've got a chance of getting ones that aren't branded with the FontLab logo.
Make sure you save your TypeTool file separately before exporting. It can take a bit of experimenting to get the right format on export. I had to go through half-a-dozen differently numbered versions before I got the whole thing right.
What's also time-consuming is loading the new font up so you can lay it out and print it. Get the most methodical person to do the whole thing.
In that case, if you use the demo, place identical symbols in 3-4 different glyphs so that when it's exported you've got a chance of getting ones that aren't branded with the FontLab logo.
Make sure you save your TypeTool file separately before exporting. It can take a bit of experimenting to get the right format on export. I had to go through half-a-dozen differently numbered versions before I got the whole thing right.
What's also time-consuming is loading the new font up so you can lay it out and print it. Get the most methodical person to do the whole thing.