About Free Fonts
Since the invention of the printing press, astute authors and publishers have sought after fonts and typefaces for their work. They would search for fonts and typefaces that adequately matched their work and yet would not distract from the words themselves.
With the invention of computers and the internet, fonts can now be created with unparalleled ease, and also distributed with a similar ease. There are entire sites dedicated to free fonts, and getting a free font that matches your work has never been easier.
Fonts can be viewed before downloading on most websites that offer them. Installing a font is quite an easy process, whether your download is for Windows or Mac.
Some things to remember when choosing a font are: readability, completeness, width, height, and weight.
Readability--Generally, you want a font that is both eye-catching but doesn't detract from the content. The font must, if nothing else, be easily read. Some fonts do not attempt this; many fonts are vanity in that the font itself IS the content. For our purposes, we will assume we want a font that is easily read.
Completeness--Many fonts available for free online do not contain the ability to be bolded or italicized. Some lack even the ability to change the case. Make sure the font you select has the complete set of abilities you need.
Width--How wide a font is. Sometimes, viewing a font online will give misleading data about the width of it, and once in a document appears too wide (and improper font formatting can give too much 'whitespace' between characters).
Height--How tall a font is.
Weight--The weight of a font is the thickness of the character outlines relative to their height. Bolding is a way to increase the "weight" of a given font. When selecting a font, make sure it carries enough weight, and if it does not consider using bold if the font allows it.
With the myriad of fonts available now on the internet, be sure to be discerning! Consider the application of your font, as it could be the difference between a reader acknowledging and digesting the content, and a reader becoming frustrated and not finishing the content.
With a little bit of research into the free fonts out there, you can find the one that's right for you.
