Core77

Pilot Handwriting: Break out that pen to create your Self-Font

By Rain Noe - July 21, 2010

in Object Culture

We're digging Pilot's fun bid to stay relevant in the computer era. As their products have increasingly become disconnected from correspondence, the writing instrument manufacturer gives you one last opportunity to use an actual physical pen for e-mail, if only once, and inject a bit of your personality into as many future e-mails as you like.

How it works: You download a template from Pilot Handwriting, fill in the appropriate letters, then scan it into your machine using your webcam. Their website then turns your chicken scratch into a cohesive, readable font that you can use to type missives in. Check it out:

o

Favorite This
Q
7

Comment

Comments

ramtin

13 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

i want this program
!Report as spam
Melissa Mudd

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

The website "fontifier" has been doing this already for a few years now. You can purchase a ttf file of your handwriting once you've finished.

Here's the website: http://www.fontifier.com/
!Report as spam
Blah!

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

They told me that this is a non-profit service and that our handwriting only belongs to us. They won't use it for anything without our permission.
And they are working on the font download
Wujuu!

!Report as spam
JerNor

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I showed this to a friend who has fantastic handwriting and she asked me "will they own my handwriting?"

I couldn't find much more than a blanket statement on their site about it. Does anyone know if they keep your self-font for profit?
!Report as spam
john callison

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Does anyone know of any other software that can do this and then save it to a font format (ex. ttf file)? this would be great for designers creating there own fonts. and its so easy! software developers get on this or heck Pilot should just do it. They should offer it the free way like the way they have it know and then charge for the font creation software.
!Report as spam
Color generator

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Wow, this is great, it is really amazing how this work!
!Report as spam
Rob

14 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

This actually might be kind of cool to be able to annotate CAD drawings and sketches digitally but with a touch of "handmade".
!Report as spam