FontLab VI is here
FontLab Studio 5 was a workhorse. It shipped in 2004 and carried a generation of type designers through the OpenType transition. The app aged gracefully, right up until it didn’t. On 7 December 2017, we replaced it.
FontLab VI is a complete rebuild for macOS and Windows. It is 64-bit, native, and built around a drawing model that reflects how type designers work. Here is what you get on day one:
- Sketchboard: A freeform canvas where you can sketch and develop letterforms before they become glyphs. You can combine vector and bitmap artwork in one place.
- Smart corners: A corner component system that lets you design a serif or ink trap once and apply it parametrically across an entire typeface. Change the master and every glyph updates.
- Point reduction and optimization: Clean up imported or traced outlines in one step. FontLab removes redundant nodes while preserving the curve’s shape.
- Color fonts: Full support for OpenType SVG, COLR/CPAL, and sbix color font formats. All are editable directly in the glyph window.
- Variable font design: Built-in multi-master editing with axis support. It is ready for the OpenType Font Variations format that shipped in browsers and operating systems the same year.
- Elements and auto layers: A reusable component system that goes beyond traditional composites. Elements carry their own outlines and can be scaled, rotated, or flipped independently per glyph.
- FontAudit: A live quality checker that flags potential problems like open contours, missing extrema, or wrong direction as you draw. It does this without interrupting your workflow.
FontLab VI opens and exports UFO, VFB (FontLab Studio 5 format), OpenType PS and TT, Variable OpenType, SVG, and more. The 30-day trial is fully functional.
Watch the announcement¶
The two-minute announcement video previews fluid Bézier editing, real-time variable font preview, color font handling, the new glyph window, the Power Brush and Rapid pen, and live corner operations.
Download FontLab VI from the FontLab product page, and start with the FontLab Help Center for documentation.