FAQ?

Sections

Questions about Fonts
Questions about Licensing
Questions about Desktop Use
Questions about Webfont Use
Questions about App Use
Questions about Other Kinds of Use
Troubleshooting

Questions about Fonts

Can I test the fonts?

The easiest way to test the fonts is to use Fontstand. They offer free trials and super cheap month-to-month licenses. They also have an amazing catalog of other typefaces. Seriously, the stuff there is like the best of the best.

I sometimes do test licenses directly if you need a little more hands-on time with the fonts. Email me with some information about your project and, if it makes sense, we can work something out. But, fair warning, I tend to reply to these emails slowly. In a rush? You'll be better off just buying a style or two.

Can I get a version of the fonts with cap-height or lining numbers?

Every Okay Type font has old-style numbers (0123456789) as the default. I think they look better in most text. Every font also has a set of lining numbers (0123456789) accessible using OpenType features. I think lining numbers look dopey in body text, but they are necessary if you want to set something in all-caps.

Some customers, however, only want the lining numbers. I blame desktop publishing and all of those bad early digital fonts. But who am I to judge?

To make life simpler for everyone, every font purchase automatically includes and alternate version of the fonts with default lining numerals. The alternates are labeled with an “LP” for Proportional-width Lining numbers. I strongly recommend that you only install the alternate versions if you really need them.

What about tabular numbers? Can I get a font with those too?

Tabular figures are when the numbers are all the same width. They are primarily used for data where a bunch of numerical information can be read normally, but also can be compared vertically. Think of a spreadsheet or a chart.

Alright and Harriet have tabular-width figures available in through their OpenType features. They have both lining height and old-style height tabular figures. If that's not enough, I have versions of the fonts with tabular-width lining figures ready to go, just email. (In case you're wondering, I've seen tabular-width old-style figures used once. In an annual report no less. They looked good.)

Questions about Licensing

I'm confused by the 'license options'. What do I need to use the fonts?

Most customers just need "Desktop Use", which is basically the old-school "install the damn font on my computer" license.

"Webfonts Use" and "App Use" are more specialized, enabling specific technical uses of the fonts. Webfont Use lets you use the fonts on a website to render live text using CSS @font-face. App Use lets you embed the fonts inside an application or digital document.

I recommend that you read the details for each option in the EULA, but if you're still unsure the best thing to do is just email me to ask.

Do you offer non-profit or student discounts?

I occasionally offer a discount to nonprofits, designers, students, and academic organizations who want to use the fonts for a specific project for good. I realize the "for good" part is pretty subjective so I review things on a case-by-case basis. So, yea, umm, maybe.

Can I share a license with my client or a friend?

No, you can't split a license because you are two separate legal entities. If you need to install the fonts on your computer you will need a license for Desktop Use. If your client also needs to install the fonts on their computer, they will need to buy their own license.

Who needs to buy the font? Me or my client?

A lot of customers want to buy a license on behalf of their client. I totally get that but it opens the door to problems. The second most important thing about buying a font, after paying for the font, is the EULA. When the third party inserts themselves between the use of the font and the EULA, it becomes easy for the end user to miss the terms of the EULA entirely. And it becomes really difficult for me to know who has a license and who doesn't.

This can lead to some awkward or messy conversations down the road. I think we all want to avoid those, eh? And technically speaking, the legal entity that is going to be using the fonts is the one that needs to read, understand, and agree to the EULA. The best way for that to happen is for them to be the one who makes the purchase. I know it's not always that easy, so email me and we can talk it over.

Can I resell your fonts?

No. The EULA is clear, you cannot resell or transfer the fonts without written permission from Okay Type. This applies double to font resellers, software vendors, art buyers, and other middlemen purporting to sell Okay Type fonts.

Questions about Desktop Use

What do you mean by ‘Desktop Use’?

Desktop Use is another name for the traditional license where you install the fonts on your computer and type things with them. Most customers start with a Desktop Use license and add webfonts or app use if and when they need it.

Can I use the fonts in a logo?

Yes, I don't restrict use of the fonts in logos. You just need to make sure that the actual fonts files aren't being bundled, subset, or packaged with the logo art. And you (and your client) should probably be aware that they would need to purchase a license if they need to use or install the fonts later on.

Can I use the fonts on packaging or on a physical product?

Most likely, yes. The Desktop Use Addendum does not restrict use on packaging or on physical products. The exception is that the fonts or characters cannot be a key part of the product itself. A good example of that are stickers or signage products with individual, rearrangeable letterforms.

How do the fonts work in Microsoft Office?

Microsoft Office is notoriously bad at supporting third-party fonts. I've put extra work into to making sure the Desktop Use fonts work as well as possible in Office applications. The four core styles (RIBBI: Regular, Italic, Bold, and Bold Italic) are style-linked. So the ⌘-I and ⌘-B shortcuts work correctly. Every other weight is style-linked between the upright and Italic styles.

There are still a few dumb issue that come up occasionally. Sometimes one or two of the style-linked fonts won't appear in the font menu. They are usable, but you have to select the Regular or upright version and use ⌘-I to switch to the italic. Ugh.

Another fun issue is that the sort-order is usually jumbled. Instead of listing fonts from lightest to heaviest, they will list the weights in seemingly random order. I think Apple tries to apply some kind of logic (RIBBI first, then :insert shrug emoji:), but it's still a mess.

With the non-core style weights, sometimes selecting the non-existing bold with ⌘-B will make a faux bold. Sometimes it won't change the weight at all. And sometimes it will switch to the proper "Bold" font, but lose its association with the original weight so pretting ⌘-B again will give you "Regular" instead of what you started with. Confused? Welcome to the club.

If any of these issues are too large of a problem, the next solution is to build you a custom Office font. I can do that, just ask.

Speaking of MS Office, can I get fonts with "normal" numbers?

See the bit about cap-height or lining numbers in Questions about Fonts above.

Questions about Webfont Use

What do you mean by "Webfont Use"?

Webfont Use allows you to use the fonts on a website using the CSS @font-face method. This is the only way you can render live, selectable text on a website using the fonts.

The webfonts are .woff and .woff2 files that you host on your own server along with the rest of your website assets. The license is a one-time fee, but is only good for one domain and is capped at a certain number of pageviews per month.

What if I go over my pageviews per month?

From the Webfont Use Addendum of the EULA: “If you exceed your licensed number of pageviews by 20% in any three consecutive months or any six months over the course of a year, you must upgrade your license to cover the increased number of pageviews.” I think that’s clear and fair, with enough leeway for unexpected traffic spikes.

I have a tiny little website. Is there a cheaper option?

Fonts purchased on Fontstand include a little bit of webfont use, perfect for small or short-term projects.

I already use webfonts from another platform. Can I get your fonts on there too?

Maybe. What's the platform? How big is your website? Let's talk about it.

How do I use the webfonts?

I highly recommend Bram Stein’s Webfont Handbook. It's short and well written with everything you need to know to use webfonts with confidence. Bram recommends this @font-face syntax as the current standard for modern browsers:

@font-face { font-family: 'Alright Normal'; src: url('alright-v2-normal-regular-latin1.woff2') format('woff2'), url('alright-v2-normal-regular-latin1.woff') format('woff'); font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; }

What formats do your webfonts come in?

Webfont downloads include both .woff and .woff2 files. This is the current standard and provides enough support for almost all users. If you need a legacy format, like .eot, just let me know.

I also provide alternate versions of every webfont. One version has the full character set and OpenType features. They're a little heavy for webfont use. The other version is subset to the Latin-1 character set, my go-to standard for a minimum western character set.

Oh, and every webfont also includes the alternate "LP" version discussed earlier.

I need more than Latin-1, can I do my own webfont subset?

Yes, but until I manage to build an online webfont subsetter you'll have to do it yourself and at your own risk. I recommend using the subsetter in fonttools.

Questions about App Use

What do you mean by ‘App Use’?

App Use is for if you need to embed, encapsulate, or otherwise use the fonts in a mobile application or electronic document to render live text. The license is priced by the number of titles with a few caveats...

What do you mean by a 'Title'?

A title is an application or electronic document that is unique in its name, content, appearance, and functionality. A title can include cross-platform variants, as long as they have identical functionality.

For apps, a single title includes any minor point updates (i.e. v1.0 to v1.1) but does not include paid updates or major updates (i.e. v1.9 to v2.0). You can read more about the definition of a title in the App Use Addendum

What about Electronic Documents?

App Use also allows embedding the fonts in an electronic document, like an ePub, eBook, or PDF. Unfortunately, this is a very broad category and it can get a little tricky to define.

First, you should know that a Desktop Use Addendum allows some use in non-commercial electronic documents. The EULA defines these as: "static un-editable electronic documents, such as PDFs, for internal use, production use, or direct-to-client presentations." Commercial or publicly accessible files requires an App Use license.

What about digital magazines, newsletters, or other reoccurring titles?

For a reoccurring series of something with different content each time, like different issues of a digital magazine, a single "title" would mean one individual issue. There is a pretty significant discount if you purchase multiple titles at once, so you can do it that way, or you can email me and I can put together a quote for something more long term.

Can the fonts be provided separately or installed on the end-users' system?

Absolutely not. Come on. The App Use EULA explicitly only allows the fonts to be accessible within the specific title they are licensed for. They must be securely embedded or encapsulated within the file (e.g.: not accessible by the end-user). And they definitely cannot be accessible on the broader operating system.

What format are App fonts delivered in?

App Fonts are delivered in .ttf TrueType format that have been optimized for app use. The fonts have obfuscated name tables that make them unusable on the desktop or operating system level. App fonts also include the alternate 'LP' versions, if that's your style.

Questions about Other Kinds of Use

What if I need to use the fonts in a way not covered by your license options?

You should email me.

I don’t want to worry about users or pageviews or anything. Can I get a license that covers everything?

You want an unlimited license for everything? Well, umm, every license has to have some boundaries. Let's start by talking about what's really important for your organization. We can try to come up with a good solution that meets your needs and is easy to manage.

Troubleshooting

Something is acting funny. What’s wrong with these fonts?

Crap. Have you tried clearing your font caches? 99% of font problems seem to come from messy old font caches. If this doesn’t help, email me with a description of your problem. Please be as specific as possible, I’ll need to know what operating system and software you’re using (include version numbers, please) and a detailed description of what exactly is going wrong. Screenshots are very helpful.

That didn't work. Now what?

Well shit. I don't know. Email me. It would be helpful to know as much as possible. What operating system are you on? What app are you using? (I need version numbers). What exactly are you trying to do and what exactly is going wrong?

Still have Questions?

No problemo. Shoot me an email and we can talk through whatever it is.