It’s time for another five free fonts, and this time I’m featuring a style that’s very close to my heart. I got my first typewriter when I was seven, and still have a small (but very loved, and very well cared for) collection of antique typewriters. Using typewriter fonts in design work can produce wonderful results- especially for vintage designs or distressed styles. Here are my top five typewriter fonts, showcasing some of my favorite quotes. And they’re all free, so download away!
Carbon Type by Vic Fieger tops the list, mostly because I think this is the one I use the most. It’s nice and bold, making it a good choice for logo or poster design, and has just the right amount of “dirtiness” to it, so that it looks like it was, indeed, typed on a piece of paper with a sheet of carbon paper (remember what that is?)
If you look closely at Vintage Typewriter, you can see that it looks like the letters have been typed on textured paper- very important if you want to avoid that “typewriter computer font” look. This one’s a little cleaner than Carbon Type, but very well executed and vintage without looking too distressed.
Splendid 66 is what I use when I want something a lot cleaner than the typical typewriter font. This one reminds me a little of type produced on an electric typewriter (also in my collection!), and because it’s so clean, it’s much more readable than the other fonts here.
Mom’s Typewriter is the classic old typewriter font, nice and dirty and perfect for mildly grungy design work. Its letters are large and round, but because of the amount of “dirt” on this font, it’s best suited for larger elements such as headlines and announcements.
Finally, Kingsthings’ delightfully named Trypewriter is described by its designer as a “deconstructed typewriter face”. Made with wonderful attention to detail, Trypewriter is a little more uneven than the other fonts here, with a nice decaying effect. It is nevertheless clear and easy to read, even at small sizes.
Do you use typewriter fonts?