[XeTeX] List of free Unicode fonts

[Gareth Hughes]

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Adam Twardoch wrote:
> Gareth Hughes wrote:
>> I've noticed that there a lot of decent, free Unicode fonts available,
>> some of which have interesting OpenType features to play with with
>> XeTeX. I've put together the following PDF as a general guide and would
>> like any suggestions or comments from the list. The PDF can be
>> downloaded from:
> 
> Gareth,
> 
> A while ago, I have compiled a similar list as of Delicious bookmarks:
> http://delicious.com/adamtwar/gratis+font
> 
> Note that the fonts I've included are "gratis" (i.e. available free of
> charge) but are sometimes tied to a particular operating system or
> application license.
> 
> Regarding your list:
> 
> I think the use of the word "free" can be confusing and misunderstood by
> some people. There are people in the community who think of "free" as
> being "gratis", i.e. available free of charge, while others think of
> "free" as "libre" i.e. available under a license that has certain or
> many copyright restrictions removed (usually also opensource).
> 
> Your list obviously contains commercial copyrighted fonts such as Minion
> Pro or Myriad Pro that may be "gratis" (available free of charge) as
> add-ins to a commercial (though also available free of charge)
> application, i.e. Adobe Reader, but are certainly not "libre" since they
> are bound by the license agreement of Adobe Reader.
> 
> Regards,
> Adam

Thank you, everyone for your input. I'd put this list together some time
ago, and just recently cleaned it up, so I was sure to find something
wrong with it. I've updated the file based on your comments.

The most glaring thing, of course, is to say that these fonts are
gratis, and only some are libre. I've added a note on the first page to
this effect, and urge users to read font licences. I've also mentioned,
in their entries, that Minion Pro and Myriad Pro are for use only with
Adobe Reader when bundled with it. I'm thinking that it may be better to
remove them entirely, as their licence offers no room for manoeuvre.

I've added mention that CartoGothic is a Frutiger lookalike, while
Bergamo is like Bembo. Adam, you have far better font-eyes than I. Also,
I offer my apologies to the Czech nation for mislabelling them as Polish!

My intention is to cover other scripts in a separate document. All those
who use Syriac, already know what there is available, so I've got Greek,
Hebrew and Arabic (incl. Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Urdu and Jawi) lined
up. As for Indian languages, I'm mostly interested in Malayalam, but the
font list there is not that long.

Please let me know any more thoughts you may have.

Thanks all,

Gareth.

- --
Gareth Hughes

Department of Eastern Christianity
Oriental Institute
Pusey Lane
Oxford
OX1 2LE

+44 (0)1865 610227
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