Gets around problem of font licenses

Extensis has provided a solution to the a long-standing issue with web designers and the way fonts are licensed with its new plug-in for Photoshop, the Web Font Plug-in. It provides designers with free access to web fonts from many foundries for designing web sites in Photoshop. Because many fonts are licensed for where they will be used, designers may need two separate licenses for the same font for web and desktop use, or have to devise workarounds in the early stages of production.

The Web Font Plug-in gives designers thousands of WebINK fonts that they can use in Photoshop for comps and mock-ups without having to use "close enough" alternative fonts or try to design directly in CSS code. By giving designers a way to use the same fonts for the initial design stages that they will want to use in the final design, clients get to see what they are getting and designers don't have to make substitutions in approved designs. Only once the pre-production work is approved, the user can license the font immediately from within the plug-in.

Extensis will offer a free webcast on "Designing with Web Fonts in Photoshop" on September 22nd (registration required), and the free Web Font Plug-in is now available for download (comes with a free trial of Suitcase Fusion 3 font management software). The plug-in will continue to work after the Suitcase Fusion trial expires. Existing Fusion 3 users will get the plug-in as a free update. The plug-in requires a free account signup on the WebINK website, which features fonts from Optimo, Our Type, Dalton Maag and many others.

by MacNN Staff