Google Fonts legal to use in Print Production

[Norcrans]

Has anyone else looked into the legalities of using Google Fonts in print production?

I know they say that they are free to use on anything because they are open source but I've also been in this game long enough to know that nothing is free, especially fonts.

Does anyone have any experience with these or know of how they work in a print production environment because I've been doing everything I can to keep these from being used in our facility but I need some good solid facts to help back me up.

 

[Mike F]

Google Fonts

Quote from that link:

All of the fonts are Open Source. This means that you are free to share your favorites with friends and colleagues. You can even customize them for your own use, or collaborate with the original designer to improve them. And you can use them in every way you want, privately or commercially – in print, on your computer, or in your websites.

I think that's about as cut and dry of an answer as you're gonna get. Sometimes free really is, well, free.

 

[gordo]

Just speculating but Google describes them as specifically for the web and it appears that they generate code for the font. So I don't think they're useable for print.

Gordo

 

[Norcrans]

Just speculating but Google describes them as specifically for the web and it appears that they generate code for the font. So I don't think they're useable for print.

Gordo

This has been one of my concerns as well from the start. Everything I can find states they are for web development but since they can be downloaded designers think they can be used for print designs as well.

That's why I was hoping to find some solid information or real world experiences with them to help me keep them out. The last thing I need happening is someone putting together a project with one of these fonts and when we go to print it we have all kinds of kerning and print issues.

 

[dabob]

just for grins i downloaded one of them, used it in indesign, and then outlined it . . .. looks like it works to me . . . . btw . . . it was HanaleFill-Regular.ttf . . . but honestly . . I got enough fonts I'm not going out looking for more

 

[chevalier]

Perhaps I am confused.

<strike>You can't actually download a font file as far as I can tell. How would these end up in a print document?</strike>

Yup, I was confused. Figured it out.

I can't remember the last font driven issue other than a glitched embedded subset or being provided a file with fonts not embedded. I was using Adobe Type Manager the last time I saw the "old" font issues where everything went haywire.