PrintMyFonts Alternatives: Top Tools for Font Previewing

PrintMyFonts Review — Pros, Cons, and Best FeaturesPrintMyFonts is a web tool designed for designers, typographers, and anyone who needs to preview and compare typefaces quickly. It helps you test fonts using your own text, compare multiple fonts side-by-side, and generate printable specimen sheets. In this review I’ll cover what PrintMyFonts does well, where it falls short, and the standout features that make it useful.

What PrintMyFonts Is

PrintMyFonts is a browser-based font preview tool that lets you:

• Enter custom sample text to see how a font handles specific words, phrases, or languages.
• Compare multiple fonts in the same layout to evaluate differences in weight, spacing, and overall feel.
• Generate print-ready specimens or PDFs to share with clients or for offline review.
• Use presets and layout controls (size, line height, tracking) to tailor previews to real-world settings.

Best Features

• Custom sample text: Most font preview tools limit samples to a few preset phrases; PrintMyFonts lets you type any text you need, which is crucial for brand names, acronyms, and multilingual testing.
• Side-by-side comparisons: Displaying multiple fonts in parallel helps with rapid decisions when narrowing font choices for a project.
• Print/export to PDF: Creating shareable, printable specimen sheets is helpful for client presentations or offline critique.
• Adjustable typography controls: You can tweak font size, line height, letter spacing, and other parameters to preview fonts in realistic contexts.
• Support for local fonts (when allowed by browser): Some workflows let designers preview fonts installed locally, speeding iteration without uploading files.
• Clean, distraction-free interface: The UI focuses on type, avoiding unnecessary visual clutter.

Pros

• Fast, focused font testing workflow.
• Flexible custom text input for real-world testing.
• Easy comparison across multiple typefaces.
• Export options for client-ready specimen sheets.
• Minimal visual clutter, which keeps attention on type.
• Free to use (basic features) with no heavy signup friction.

Cons

• Limited advanced typographic features: Tools like variable font axis adjustment, OpenType feature toggles, or fine kerning controls can be limited or absent.
• Browser limitations: Local font preview depends on browser permissions and may not work uniformly across all browsers or platforms.
• No integrated marketplace: It doesn’t sell fonts directly, so you’ll need to source fonts elsewhere if you want to purchase licenses.
• Collaboration features may be basic or missing: Real-time collaborative editing or team libraries aren’t typically part of the core experience.
• Dependent on internet access: Being web-based, offline use is restricted unless you export PDFs beforehand.

Typical Use Cases

• Branding projects — testing logos or brand names in candidate typefaces.
• Client presentations — producing printed specimen sheets for review.
• Typeface selection — narrowing large font libraries by visual comparison.
• Multilingual checks — ensuring diacritics and special characters render correctly in chosen fonts.
• Teaching and critique — showing students how changes in size, spacing, or weight affect legibility and tone.

Comparison with Alternatives

Tips for Getting the Most Out of PrintMyFonts

• Use your actual brand copy and sample headlines to test real-world behavior.
• Export PDF specimens for client sign-off and archive them with font license info.
• Pair side-by-side comparisons with small-size previews to judge readability at body text sizes.
• Test special characters and non-Latin scripts if your project requires them.
• If you rely on variable fonts, supplement PrintMyFonts with a tool that exposes variable axes.

Verdict

PrintMyFonts is a pragmatic, easy-to-use tool for quick font previews, comparisons, and printable specimen generation. It’s especially strong for branding work and client-facing presentations because of its custom text and export features. For heavy typographic work—variable font manipulation, deep OpenType feature testing, or collaborative asset management—you’ll want to pair it with dedicated desktop apps or specialized web tools. Overall, PrintMyFonts is a solid, time-saving utility for designers who need fast, reliable font previews and printable specimens.