January 26, 2016

Did you ever wanted to identify fonts you've come across and which you would like to use, but you can't identify? It's one thing to search through selections of fonts in hopes of finding one that will best serve your purposes. It can be something else to come across a font in a document or webpage that you would like to use, but you don't know what it's called or where to find it.

If the font is widely used, you may be able to find it by searching, or have someone else do a search for you – probably for a fee, whether the search is successful or not. WhatFontis.com is a software program that searches for and identifies fonts, at no cost to you. All you need to do is upload a sample!

How to identify a font you simply can't do without

identify font from photo

The first step is to go to the WhatFontis.com website and register. To do so, just enter your email address and check off a box to verify you are not a robot. Hit the Register button, and you're in!

To request a free search for a font you're interested in, upload an image file of the font you want to have identified, and hit “Continue”.

If the font is on a web page, you can specify the URL instead, or upload a screenshot of the page. The software does the rest.

You do have to submit at least one line of text, and it must be in a JPG, GIF, or PNG format. Only Latin letters are allowed, the text must be horizontal, and the file size may not exceed 1.8 Mbytes.

recognize font from image

There are a few other rules and guidelines too, including several good and bad submission examples. Everything you need to know is presented in a straightforward manner. If the system does not come up with an answer on the first try, there are alternate approaches. There is also a forum where registered members will identify your font if they are familiar with it. A quick scan of submissions will show that the bulk of the queries are responded to, and most often in a short time.

You may get a single result, several results, or no result. A single result will identify the font you are interested in, or a close match.

find font by picture

If you get several results, you can select the closest match. If you get none, it probably means the font you are looking for is not only unique, but a bit weird.

Integrate Chrome with WhatFontis

find font

If you are planning on becoming a frequent user of this service, and you would like to take advantage of a shortcut, you might find it worthwhile to download the WhatFontis.com browser extension for Chrome.

An extension adds a feature or features you can use with a browser. The WhatFontis extension for Chrome is completely trustworthy. It will not place an excessive load on your browser unless you have already added a pile of extensions. There is also an option to download an extension for Firefox, but not one for Internet Explorer, which is not a good browser for using addons in any event.

When Subscribing to the Premium Version Makes Sense

font finder

If you are just an occasional user, using the free version makes sense. You are limited to 5 identifications per day, and a single forum post per day. You will however find a premium account quite affordable; at $2.99/month or $29.99/year. A premium account allows you to submit an unlimited number of identifications and an unlimited amount of forum posts per day. With a premium account you can select from 25 sources for commercial accounts, and input 1 to 15 characters for analysis instead of 2 to 10.

An added advantage of using a premium account is that the website ads disappear. The ads are not terribly intrusive to begin with, but you'll be saved the irritation of clicking on a wrong button. Free is always a bargain, but $2.99 a month isn't bad, and you may find it to your advantage to have more extensive use of the forum.

A Very Good Solution to a Sometimes Difficult Problem

Software applications are more often than not faster and better at searching for things than are people, and they can be much less expensive to utilize than human resources. You will save yourself time, stress, and money, by taking advantage of the search and font identification service WhatFontis.com offers, whether you need to identify a single font or hundreds of fonts. If you are a web designer, you will find this service a valuable addition to your tool kit, and a service we strongly recommend.

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