One of the most addicting elements of scrapbooking is collecting fonts!  But, how do you download, un-zip, and install them?  Here’s a quick tutorial on how to make this experience a breeze.  We used the Windows XP operating system for screenshots; other Windows operating systems would have the same instructions, just a little different look.  

Our designer Scrap.Words are created with mixing various commercial fonts to save you time and effort. Check them out here.

Impact font filled with paper. Layout supplies here

What you’ll need

• Internet connectivity

• Microsoft Windows

 You’ll learn how to:

• Download and Install fonts

Download Font from Internet site

One of my favorite sites for downloading great fonts for scrapbooking is Scrapvillage.  They don’t have all the banner ads that the big free font sites have, and they cater to scrapbookers.  Please remember that free fonts are for personal use only.  If you use fonts in a commercial capacity, a great site to consider is MyFonts, where they have a large collection of commercial fonts, and some affordable bundles. 

Most font download sites have an option to download Windows and Mac fonts.  If using Windows, choose Windows or True Type fonts download option.  Most font sites download a Zip file you need to extract with WinZip or another unzipping utility, however, Scrapvillage downloads the True Type font file itself making the process even easier.  Note: these are Windows compatible only. 

For this tutorial, we will be saving a zipped font from Dafont (Jump Start, created by Typearound), so you can see how to unzip a file.  Windows XP comes with its own Zip utility (Extraction Wizard), but they are available for download for other operating systems. 

First, search a font site for a font you want to download.  When you find one, click on the specific font type you want to download.  File Download dialog box (above right) will appear.  Choose Save and Save As dialog box (right) will open.  Click Desktop Icon on left.  Click Save. When complete Click Close.

Un-Zip Font File

Most font sites have you save a Zip file of the font.  To un-zip, click on jump_start.zip icon on Desktop.  The dialog box to the right will open.  Click Extract all files in Folder Tasks, and the Extraction Wizard dialog will open.   

Note: for instruction purposes, it is easiest to show saving fonts on Desktop, however, it is best to create a specific font folder to store all these fonts, such as C:\My Documents\Fonts, so your Desktop doesn’t get filled with fonts.  If you save fonts to Desktop, periodically delete them off the Desktop after installation, as they aren’t needed.

Select a folder to extract files to: defaults to Desktop.  Click Next.  Follow dialog instructions.  Click Finish when done.

Install Font

Go to Start>Settings>Control Panel.
Double Click on Fonts folder (your system might be set up to display thumbnails in Windows Explorer, so you might see an image with “Fonts” listed below it – that’s fine).

In dialog box, locate font saved on desktop by double clicking C: in folders window at lower left.  Then click Documents and Settings.  Then click Desktop and font just saved will appear in List of fonts window. Click Select All to highlight all fonts in window.  Click OK to install highlighted fonts.  Fonts will be installed. 

Open image editor or word processing package, and the newly installed font will appear in font list!

Happy creating!

Michelle Shefveland