FontLab Studio 5 is our next-generation professional font editor for Mac and Windows. Used by Adobe, Apple, Bitstream, IBM, Linotype, Microsoft, Monotype, Morisawa and almost every other major font foundry in the world, it is the comprehensive solution for font foundries, professional type designers, typographers and graphic design studios, allowing them to design typefaces and create or modify fonts. FontLab Studio 5 supports all major outline font formats, including Type 1, TrueType, Multiple Master and OpenType.

UPDATED! July 2007: Free update to version 5.0.4 is available for users of FontLab Studio 5 for Mac and Windows: get your update or see the list of items changed and improved.

FontLab Studio 5 is now available for Mac and Windows!

Note: FontLab Studio 5 can directly create OpenType Layout tables for non-complex scripts. OpenType Layout tables required for complex scripts such as Arabic, Devanagari or Thai can be added with the free Microsoft VOLT application.

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FontLab Studio

Font editor for font professionals. Version 5.0.4 for Mac and Windows.

Some highlights from this release:

In-context glyph design with Neighbors and Shape groups, true tangent points, color-customized and streamlined glyph window

Revolutionary new metrics and kerning editing: multiline preview, better class kerning, smart autogeneration of classes

Pixelfont support: import BDF files and make pixelfonts, built-in autotracing

Unicode 5.0 support: SMP codepoints, auto-generate over 2,500 accented characters from built-in definitions, new Unicode glyph template images (from Monotype Imaging)

Improved OpenType support with better VOLT integration, roundtrip editing of complex-script fonts, font merging, glyph suffix renaming

Opens Mac fonts on Windows (Mac Type 1, TrueType GX/AAT) and IkarusΖ files

Five new printing modes, Quick Test fonts with system rendering

Open installed fonts, generate multiple fonts in one step

Redesigned preferences; save, open and exchange preference profiles and UI workspaces

Better autohinting with Flex Type 1 hints, Python 2.4 support

US$649, upgrade from 4.6 just US$99, scroll down for upgrade pricing

Click "Read more" (over at the left) to see a more detailed description of FontLab Studio’s features and an read an introductory article (PDF).

Glyph Window — Draw and edit PostScript and TrueType outlines, previews anti-aliased fills and outlines, has industry-standard drawing tools including the innovative Sketch mode and tangent points, supports open paths, converts from strokes to outlines, automatically generate parallel paths and more.

Multiple Masters — Make your own multiple master fonts with up to 4 axes. Extrapolate fonts beyond original limits

Type 1 Hinting — Add hints manually or automatically for beautiful screen and low-res fonts.

VectorPaint Tools — Paint vector outlines with the ease of 8 bitmap-like tools and shaped brush strokes

FontAudit Technology — Automatically check your outlines during editing

Font Metrics and Kerning — Metrics and kerning editor with full class-kerning support, autokerning and full MM support.

Actions — Outline, metrics and hinting transformations applicable to the whole font or to selected characters

Unicode — Full support for Unicode 4.1 with SMP codepoints and a new glyph template images (from Monotype Imaging), numerous encodings and multiple codepages, font reencoding

Font Header Editor — Access to all font properties, from names to supported codepages to TrueType-specific font metrics

OpenType Support — Import, create, edit, export and convert OpenType fonts (PS and TT). Better decompile font features to easy-to-read source code, export to VOLT or store original binary OT tables.

Macro Language — extensive Python 2.4-compatible scripting inside FontLab Studio lets you extend FontLab features infinitely. Make your own tools and plugins! Browse to the Python Page for details and demos.

Customizable User Interface — from menus and keyboard shortcuts to the pictures on toolbar buttons — change the FontLab UI to fit your needs, save and exchange your preferences and workspaces with others

Asian Fonts — Double-byte codepages and vertical advance vectors for Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts

Complex Script Fonts — Show glyphs and metrics in right-to-left rendering, export features to VOLT or round-trip fonts with binary OpenType features made in VOLT

Blended fonts — Make MM fonts or interpolated instaces from any two fonts