What is TTC?

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

What is AFM?

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

When Should You Use TTC vs AFM?

TTC vs AFM: Key Differences

• •The core technical difference: TTC relies on lossless compression whereas AFM uses lossless compression.
• •Neither format changes compression philosophy — both are lossless compression — so any size differences are due to encoding efficiency, not a shift in quality approach.
• •How transparency is handled: AFM supports transparency, so alpha information is preserved during conversion.
• •TTC files are typically 5-30MB for CJK font collections while AFM files range Very small, text-based metrics
• •TTC is optimized for font distribution, cjk font collections while AFM is designed for postscript font metrics, pdf font embedding — choose based on your specific workflow needs

Advantages of TTC

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

Advantages of AFM

• ✓AFM uses lossless compression tailored for PostScript font metrics, PDF font embedding.
• ✓AFM is supported natively on virtually every device, browser, and operating system.
• ✓AFM files are bit-for-bit perfect, preserving every pixel and sample for professional work.
• ✓AFM integrates seamlessly with all major creative tools and workflows.

Common Use Cases for TTC to AFM Conversion

• Print design
• Mobile apps
• Desktop publishing
• E-book formatting
• User interfaces
• Marketing materials

Industry Applications

Best Practices for TTC to AFM Conversion

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

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

Related Font Converters

All Font Formats

More Font tools