The 2004 press releases... http://crm.tmcnet.com/news/2004/sep/1078356.htm

Having had the opportunity to work with it briefly I can tell you that it really is wonderful to see it dusted off (with an industrial blower) and brought back. I’m all for new type and innovation, but I’m also someone who loves seeing something (however) old, made new again.

Best part... UNICASE!!!!

Competition:

http://www.type.fi/SuomiFranklin.html

http://www.mvbfonts.com/html/info/contents/coming_soon.htm

Mikey :-)

Wow, I love Franklin Gothic. This looks beautiful.

There is also info on ITC’s website: http://www.itcfonts.com/Fonts/NewFonts/2008/Franklin.htm

That’s looking nice. Good stuff. :)

> There is also info on ITC’s website:

There’s also ITC Franlin :)

There’s also ITC Franlin :)

I guess the compression carried over to the spelling. ;-D

I’d have to say that your God has a pretty weird looking face, James.

—K

Perhaps it’s the Cylon God?

The Cylon god would use ITC Machine. ;-D

And in 1892 the lord said “LET THERE BE ATF!” and the specimen books were very good.

Off topic... last weeks episode of Battlestar was off the hook! I thought the Prez was gonna kill Baltar for realz. And it looks like we’re gonna get the Adama-Roslin romance we’ve all been wanting!!!

Mikey :-)

>The Cylon god would use ITC Machine. ;-D

No, I think Chank’s “Space Toaster” would be a better pick...

http://www.chank.com/font_detail.php?sku=5087

Do people think this version of Franklin is well drawn? How about professionals?

H

I asked around and apparently this Berlow chap is quite well regarded.

Yeah, and I even heard that he drew some of the weights in previous versions. :-)

> Do people think this version of Franklin is well drawn? How about professionals?

This is under investigation — Font Bureau Inc

I asked around and apparently this Berlow chap is quite well regarded.

That doesn’t mean much...

This is under investigation — Font Bureau Inc

Obviously I mean professionals other than himself. Yes.

Berlow’s output is excellent! FB fonts are kerned very well too.

> That doesn’t mean much...
> Obviously I mean professionals....

Cut to the chase. What do you want to say?

First thanks for all the nice comments, and I hope the family is even more useful than the one before. Second, I never go by the name of the designer alone, I always look. I’ve found two errors in the specimens that are being published, (never, ever, track or let ultra open via justification), and those will be corrected this week. I don’t think there is anything amiss in the well-drawn department, but considering all the things I’ve said in my life about various versions of you-know-what-ica, I’m always interested in a Swiss point of view. ;)

Cheers!

[edited]
Cheers!

David, at a glance: excellent stuff! I need to spend some time with printed specimens. If it’s any indication about the appeal, I got this email from a type-aware but non-design friend this morning:

“Do you ever have any occasion to use ITC Franklin?
http://www.fontbureau.com/fonts/ITCFranklin

(Via Daring Fireball, as you surely saw)

That is danged nice.”

You’ve got some fans in the non-design community.

Franklin zgothic Fail!!

———————————-
Chopper Reid says “Harden the **** up”.

Muzzer> What about this design fails to meet your standards?

Mikey

Two weeks (in Berlin) ago David B made quite a lot of jokes re his reworkings of Ed Benguiats oeuvre — and he did it again: even more cuts of FG than Ed did. Wonderful!
What’s next? Breaking Luc[as] de Groots Thesis–record? ; )

. . .
Bert Vanderveen BNO

Mikey mate, its nothing tlike the metal one! If youve ever seen that then you’l know what iam talking about. Did you guys look ay the metal one David or just tear into it as you went along??!

———————————-
Chopper Reid says “Harden the **** up”.

No reason for it to look just like the metal one—it’s not a metal face.

if you insist James mate! Then no need to name it after a metal face then??

———————————-
Chopper Reid says “Harden the **** up”.

I think it is a fair observation that this version does vary in feeling from the original to such an extent that the voice, feeling or sensibility of the font can be regarded as definitely changed. This might be what be what Tiff meant by “with an industrial blower”. I can only assume this was David’s intention. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong BTW! The clearest sense of the change would probably come from looking at an ATF book and then at the FB material.

I hold the metal franklin gothic in very deep esteem* so I admit it’s is a bit disconcerting to see this new one. I’ll have to let you know in time if I still cling to my sacred cow or not. If you asked me today I would probably have to cling.

In any event, if what you want is a fairly pure continuity with the old metal face but with more weights etc; then this release is probably not what you are looking for. But then that’s not everybody...

Ceratinly if ITC wants to name it “Franklin Gothic” then I think that’s their right.

And if you would have preferred it otherwise I suppose it’s your right to complain.

* Maybe too deep. On the positive side though I can definitely say that pondering the mystery of why FG looked so very fine to me was one of the first steps I took on the road to designing type.

I do agree with all the sentiments that this design is very sanitized—highly regularized. However, it should be noted that Font Bureau caters to the newspaper crowd and those folk require highly efficient and compact type. Quirks are not appreciated there.

Mikey :-)

”...Certainly if ITC wants to name it “Franklin Gothic” “

A clear decision was made not to call it Franklin Gothic, because it was felt, as observed here, that it isn’t. If one thinks Franklin, is too close a name, I’m not going to argue. On the other hand, it is not in fact, ATF Franklin Gothic in format, face or name, so I’m not sure if there is a question.

Cheers!

A clear decision was made not to call it Franklin Gothic, because it was felt, as observed here, that it isn’t.

Thanks for setting up the distinction re: the name including “ITC”.

I do think that to the buyers of fonts, this distinction isn’t always clear; hence my comment.

But then that’s what our eyes are for. As you said, simply buying by name is a bad plan.