Desktop Publishing

Fontist integrates seamlessly with desktop publishing applications like Adobe InDesign, Scribus, and Adobe Illustrator.

Installation

Install Fonts for Desktop Use

# Install a font for desktop use
fontist install "open_sans"

# Install multiple fonts
fontist install "roboto" "lato" "source_sans"

Verify Installation

# Check installed fonts
fontist list

# Find specific font location
fontist status "Open Sans"

Application Integration

Adobe InDesign

1. Install fonts using Fontist
2. Restart InDesign to detect new fonts
3. Use fonts in your documents

TIP

Fontist installs fonts to ~/.fontist/fonts/ by default. Some applications may need to be configured to use this directory.

Scribus

Scribus automatically detects fonts installed in user directories:

# Install Scribus-compatible fonts
fontist install "liberation" "dejavu"

Adobe Illustrator

Same as InDesign - install fonts and restart the application.

License Considerations

For desktop publishing, pay attention to:

Use Case	License Required	Notes
Print documents	Most licenses allow	Check "Commercial (Static)" permission
PDF export	Most licenses allow	Embedding may have conditions
Client work	Check license	Some restrict commercial work
Font modification	Rarely allowed	OFL requires renaming

Recommended Licenses for Desktop Publishing

• OFL 1.1 - Best choice, allows all desktop uses
• Apache 2.0 - Fully permissive
• MIT - Fully permissive

Troubleshooting

Fonts Not Showing in Application

1. Restart the application
2. Check font installation: fontist status "Font Name"
3. Some apps need system font cache refresh

Font Subsetting in PDFs

Most licenses allow subsetting when embedding in PDFs. OFL 1.1 explicitly permits this.

See Also

• Choosing a Formula
• License Overview