A typeface is a visual representation of a set of alphabetic characters used in printing. Typefaces are characterized by having a consistent style of related character forms.
Historically typefaces were first carved from wood and set on a letterpress. After about 400 years, wood type was replaced by cast metal type. "Cold" metal type lasted for about a century and was replaced by hot metal type which was cast mechanically on demand. Hot metal type was replaced within 50 years by optical laser type, which quickly evolved into computerized digital type stored as outline coordinates in one of several data formats (TrueType, OpenType, and Postscript). These are often referred to as fonts, though that term more precisely refers to a specific weight or subset of a typeface.
The most popular typefaces in current usage are probably Helvetica or one of its many variations, and Times Roman in its many forms.
Modern digital typefaces are available online from sites like Monotype, Fontcraft and MyFonts.
by Dave Nalle
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