Notable Difference between TTF and OTF: Font is a graphical representation of text characters in a certain style and size. It is also the digital representation of a typeface. In this article, you will learn about the notable difference between TTF and OTF and see the distinguishing factors between them.
TTF and OTF
TTF simply means True Type Font which is a very older font, while OTF simply means Open Type Font, which was based in part on the TrueType standard. However, the fonts are file extensions (.ttf, .otf) that are used to show that the file is a font which can be used in formatting the documents for printing.
However, an important difference between TTF and OTF is in their capabilities. TTF depends only on glyph tables that describe how each character looks while OTF is able to use glyphs with CCF “Compact Font Format” tables.
The cubic Bezier splines which are also used by CCF allow for fewer points to be used in describing how a character would look compared to the quadratic Bezier splines used by TTF fonts.
Open Type Fonts “OTF”
Open Type Fonts was developed out of its TrueType Font equivalent in the late 1990s by Apple and Microsoft again. It can also store up to 65 000 characters including special characters, digits, letters and glyphs with increased typographic features. These fonts are useful when working at the same time with different languages that make them more expensive.
It also gives additional smart font features, on top of the ‘sfnt’ structure that is being used by TTF, to add extra language support to the fonts. However, it may not have an important effect on your computer but it is also worthy to note that the use of CCF in OTF could lead to file sizes that are importantly smaller, given that no special features are used in the font.
True Type Fonts “TTF”
True Type Font was a combined effort by Apple and Microsoft in the early 1980s, many years after the release of the PostScript font format. Each firm has made independent extensions to TrueType, which is usually used in both Windows and Macintosh Operating Systems.
TTF has actually been the most common format for fonts on Mac and Windows operating systems. However, almost all main browsers have supported it. For instance, Type 1, the TrueType format is available for the development of new fonts.
TrueType fonts also contain both the screen and printer font data in a single component, making the fonts easier to install. For this, TrueType is a perfect choice for those who have limited experience working with and installing fonts.
TTF are clearly readable at any size. As regards to this, these fonts are good all-around files for both on-screen viewing and printing purposes.
Notable Difference Between TTF and OTF
1. True Type Fonts is the file extension for TTFs while OTF is the extension for Open Type fonts.
2. True Type Fonts depend only on a glyph table while Open Type fonts can either have glyph tables or CCF.
3. True Type Fonts files are frequently much bigger compared to OTF font files.
4. However, True Type Fonts gives you very exact control of how a font will be rasterized, but the approach that works for monochrome displays may not work well for grayscale or RGB and vice versa.
5. True Type Fonts are still so much more famous than OTF fonts.
6. True Type Fonts are so easier to do than OTF fonts.
7. TTF fonts are easier to make compared to OTF fonts.