Tiny Type Co.

License information

What’s a ‘user’, exactly?

A ‘user’ as defined in the license is someone who, at any point, has the font files installed on their computer, user account or virtual machine. A user can have a few computers, but the simplest way to think about it is: a user is one person and their assigned workspaces.

What if I have a remote office?

The above definition of a user creates a useful distinction between designer and license holder. If a company buys a single license, three of their employees get to use the fonts – no matter where they work from.

How are you going to stop me from breaking the rules?

That’s nice of you to ask. I won’t. I can’t. There’s nothing I can do to stop you from abusing the license. I’m trusting you to honour the rules I set. It’s scary, but together we can do this!

Can I change something I don’t like?

You’re allowed to modify the fonts, so long as you don’t redistribute or resell the files, or otherwise share them outside of your license scope. If you bought a license for three users, no more than three users can use the modified files. But if you want support, I can’t help you. If you do need support, a better method would be to ask me to make the change.

Can I share these fonts with my printer?

Ideally, you subset the font in your export settings. This helps the files from being unfairly distributed.

How do I install my new fonts?

The simplest methods are to simply open the files. Windows and macOS will open up a screen where you can choose to activate the files. Some people use font managers – if you do, you likely already know what to do.

Do you have trial or test fonts?

Absolutely. I understand that it can be difficult to imagine how a certain text setting will look. The PDF specimens are detailed documents, but sometimes – for example in client presentations – you just need that little bit extra to show off what you have in mind. The entire Tiny Type catalog is packaged up in a ZIP file, for easy testing. There’s a dedicated page that explains things in more details.

The Tiny Type Co. catalog is also available through Fontstand, where you can easily install trial fonts through their app, or rent the fonts for 10% of their shop price per month.

OpenType features

While OpenType features are most visibly used for fancy ligatures and clever icon effects, there are also very subtle and useful tricks available to the type user. In all TTC fonts, the most important and typical feature is smart glyph replacement of local variants. For example, the Catalan ‘punt volat’ (L·L) or the Romanian and Moldavian variant of the S with cedilla.

In more aesthetic terms, Tiny Type fonts avoid obvious clashes between letters like į and j. It may seem like a small thing, but in languages that rely on them, you’ll certainly notice. The feature called ‘Contextual alternates’ provides for this sort of thing, and is on by default in Adobe software and most browsers.

For spacing cases, where certain letters need adjustment to fit together better, the kerning sets in. Please always use the ‘Metrics’ setting in your software – kerning is an important part of the type design process.

Language support

It is my intention with the Tiny Type Co. to support almost every language that, because of whatever reason, uses Latin as their primary script. As of writing, this covers over 200 languages. Using the OpenType features ‘Mark-to-Base’ and ‘Mark-to-Mark’, it is possible to compose an even wider range of characters.

Languages

File formats

Every Tiny Type font is a cross-platform OpenType file (.otf), and is for desktop, application and e-book use. Web use is provided with appropriate WOFF2 and WOFF files. Together, they cover a wide range of modern web browsers. Recommended CSS and server instructions are included in the package.