What is AFM?

Adobe Font Metrics (AFM) is a text file describing Type 1 font metrics including character widths, kerning pairs, and bounding boxes.

What is PFA?

PostScript Type 1 ASCII (PFA) is a human-readable printer font format used in professional typesetting and PostScript printing.

When Should You Use AFM vs PFA?

AFM vs PFA: Key Differences

• •AFM and PFA diverge on compression: lossless compression for the source, lossless compression for the target.
• •Both formats share lossless compression, so quality behavior is similar across the two — file size differences come from algorithm efficiency rather than compression philosophy.
• •Transparency: N/A
• •AFM files are typically Very small, text-based metrics while PFA files range 20-100KB per font
• •Use case fit: AFM targets postscript font metrics, pdf font embedding and PFA targets professional printing, postscript devices — your choice depends on which workflow stage you are serving.

Advantages of AFM

• ✓AFM applies lossless compression specifically calibrated for PostScript font metrics, PDF font embedding.
• ✓AFM enjoys broad native support across operating systems, browsers, and creative tools alike.
• ✓AFM guarantees every bit of the original data survives — no approximations, no shortcuts.
• ✓You will find AFM support built into virtually every tool that handles PostScript font metrics, PDF font embedding — no plugins or converters needed.

Advantages of PFA

• ✓The lossless nature of PFA means file sizes stay reasonable while handling Professional printing, PostScript devices efficiently.
• ✓From mobile devices to enterprise servers, PFA is recognized and supported everywhere.
• ✓The trade-off for PFA's perfection is larger files — but for archival work, it is worth every megabyte.
• ✓PFA is a first-class citizen in all major software ecosystems, from creative suites to development environments.

Common Use Cases for AFM to PFA Conversion

• Icon sets
• Logo design
• Data visualization
• Presentation design
• Video subtitles
• Game UI typography

Industry Applications

Best Practices for AFM to PFA Conversion

• →Before converting AFM to PFA, review the font license — some licenses restrict format conversion
• →Check hinting data after conversion: PFA may handle TrueType hinting differently than AFM
• →Verify that all character sets (Latin, Cyrillic, CJK, etc.) survived the conversion intact
• →Test the converted font in both a browser and a desktop application
• →Keep the original font file in case the conversion alters spacing metrics

Troubleshooting AFM to PFA Conversion

• !PFA font doesn't render correctly → check if PFA supports all glyphs present in AFM
• !Licensing restrictions after AFM to PFA conversion → verify the font license allows format conversion
• !Hinting data lost converting AFM to PFA → some font formats like PFA may not preserve TrueType hinting
• !Special characters missing from converted PFA → font subsetting may have removed unused glyphs

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