OTF and TTF are font file extensions used to format documents for physical and screen printing. In fact, OTF was the redesign of TTF. However, TTF is still popular.
Read on to learn the key differences between OTF and TTF and when it’s best to choose one over the other.
What is OTF?
OpenType Font (OTF) is a format for scalable computer fonts. Adobe and Microsoft developed OTF as a standard for digital fonts. They wanted a font that offered cross-platform compatibility and supported all writing systems worldwide.
OTF combines aspects of the basic PostScript and TrueType font structure formats for complex data structures. You can store up to 65,000 characters, including special characters, letters, digits, and glyphs. OTF is completely scalable, so it can be resized while maintaining quality. Please note that it is compatible with Windows 2000 and later and Mac OS X.
What is TTF?
Apple and Microsoft developed TrueType Font (TTF) to compete with Adobe’s Type 1 fonts used in PostScript. They were intended to accommodate cross-platform functionality. It has long been the most common font format on Mac and Windows, and all major browsers support it.
TTF has a single file package comprising the TrueType file used for display only and the PostScript file for printing. This setup made it easy to install new fonts and served as one of the first cross-platform fonts, compatible with most devices. However, inefficiency led Adobe and Microsoft to create OTF to store more file information.
TTFs can be resized without loss of quality and appear the same on physical prints as they do on screen. TTF is the most common font used by Mac and Windows.
OTF versus TTF: the differences
The most significant difference between these two sources is their competencies.
TTF relies solely on glyph tables to define the appearance of each character. In comparison, OTF uses glyphs with Compact Font Format (CCF) tables. CCF uses cubic Bézier for fewer points to determine what a character would look like in contrast to the quadratic Bézier splines that TTF uses. Quadratic Bézier splines are mathematically easier and faster to process than cubic Bézier splines, but require more points.
If you are a graphic designer, you will probably choose the OTF type, as it offers much more freedom to manipulate the characters with specialized software such as Adobe Illustrator. Fonts of any size can be displayed with high precision and look great on web pages, for example.
OTF files are smaller
Using CCF over OTF can result in significantly smaller file sizes since no special features are used in the source. Its alternatives, small caps, ligatures, etc., are within the font rather than kept separately. Operating systems can also process OTF more efficiently.
OFT Smart Source Features
OFT adds some smart font features, in addition to the SFNT (a font file containing other fonts) structure used by TTF, which adds additional language support to fonts. OFT supports advanced typographic features.
TFTs are more popular
Despite the advantages of OTF, especially with CCF, the use of TTF is still very productive. Although it has taken longer than expected, the number of OTFs is increasing. This is due to the lack of simplicity in creating TTFs compared to OTFs that use CCF.
OTF vs. TTF: Similarities
OTF and TTF are ideal for full compatibility between browsers and operating systems. Traditional TTF, Modern TTF, and OTF formats can be used for long-term support with older Internet browsers, especially mobile browsers.
OTF vs TTF: Which is better?
OFT is best for designing print materials and TTF is best for web design or mobile design fonts for desktop and mobile screens.
Frequently asked questions
What is EOT?
EOT means integrated open type. Microsoft designed this font for online use and to address the copyright deficiencies of OTF and TTF when publishing online. EOT uses a Microsoft tool to create fonts from existing OTF and TTF fonts.
What is WOFF?
Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is an OTF or TTF with compression and metadata compatible with major browsers. It was created by Microsoft, Mozilla Foundation and Opera Software to reside on the web. Fonts are compressed, which speeds up loading times. Metadata allows the inclusion of license data within the font file to address any copyright issues.
What is SVG?
Scalable vector graphics fonts contain glyph outlines as regular SVG elements and features as if they were a single vector object in an SVG image. SVG lacks font hints, which is additional information built in to represent small font sizes with readability and quality. This font is not good for body text. But it is the only file format supported by version 4.1 of Safari for iOS.
OpenType vs TrueType
Although OTF and TTF files are similar, they are mainly distinguished by different outline formats. Character outlines in OTFs are created using cubic Bézier paths, while TTFs are made of quadratic Béziers. TTG is better for digital viewing, while OTF is better for printing. However, almost all modern font applications can work with OTF and TTF files.
