What is PFB?

PostScript Type 1 Binary (PFB) is a compact binary printer font format, more efficient than ASCII PFA for professional printing.

What is TTC?

TrueType Collection (TTC) bundles multiple TrueType fonts into a single file, commonly used for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) font families.

When Should You Use PFB vs TTC?

PFB vs TTC: Key Differences

• •PFB and TTC diverge on compression: lossless compression for the source, lossless compression for the target.
• •Since both PFB and TTC use lossless compression, the quality characteristics are comparable — differences in file size come down to how efficiently each format implements compression.
• •How transparency is handled: TTC supports transparency, so alpha information is preserved during conversion.
• •Storage footprint: 15-80KB per font, smaller than PFA for PFB vs 5-30MB for CJK font collections for TTC.
• •Use case fit: PFB targets professional printing, legacy typesetting and TTC targets font distribution, cjk font collections — your choice depends on which workflow stage you are serving.

Advantages of PFB

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

Advantages of TTC

• ✓TTC compresses data using lossless methods, keeping file sizes manageable for Font distribution, CJK font collections.
• ✓Industry-wide support means TTC files open anywhere — from legacy systems to the latest devices.
• ✓Lossless quality makes TTC the gold standard for archival and master copies.
• ✓From professional software to open-source alternatives, TTC works out of the box.

Common Use Cases for PFB to TTC Conversion

• Video subtitles
• Game UI typography
• Website typography
• Brand identity
• Print design
• Mobile apps

Industry Applications

Best Practices for PFB to TTC Conversion

• →Before converting PFB to TTC, review the font license — some licenses restrict format conversion
• →Check hinting data after conversion: TTC may handle TrueType hinting differently than PFB
• →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 PFB to TTC Conversion

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

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