Adobe Type on Call

a CD ROM review by Pete Cassetta, Alamo PC

Adobe Type on Call (TOC) is a great little product. Its main purpose is to provide a quick, convenient, and economical way to purchase Adobe fonts.

Buying Fonts

TOC is distributed on a single CD which contains Adobe's entire typeface library in encrypted form. There are two utilities to assist you in buying fonts: Type Browser and Purchaser. Another utility lets you uninstall TOC and backup/restore fonts you have purchased.

Type Browser lets you browse all the typefaces on the CD to select ones you wish to purchase. You can browse by name, family, designer, or classification (sans serif, monospaced, etc.). For each typeface, you can view on-screen font samples as well as a paragraph of background information. The background information is a great resource. It lists the designer, the date the typeface was created, its motivation and purpose, and tips on what uses it is most suitable for. A companion booklet provides printed samples of each typeface -- a great help in evaluating what the typefaces will look like in print.

Once you decide which typeface(s) to buy, Purchaser helps you place your order. It creates a completed order form which can be printed. You can place the order by fax, mail, or an 800 phone number. Adobe responds to the order by faxing you access codes to unlock the purchased fonts. If you use the 800 number, the fax arrives within 10 minutes of placing the order. Operators are available to accept orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can truly buy typefaces whenever you need them. Finally, you enter the access codes into Purchaser to unlock the fonts you just bought. They can then be copied to your hard disk and/or installed in ATM. While this whole process is very quick and convenient, it would be nice if Adobe would also provide the option to receive access codes by e-mail instead of fax.

A Great Value

Perhaps the best thing about TOC is that it's a great value. When buying typefaces using TOC, Adobe gives you 35% off the list price. This usually works out to a few dollars less than the typical retail price. You also eliminate shipping costs and can begin using your typefaces within a few minutes of ordering.

TOC costs about $50 retail, and includes the full Adobe Type Manager package with 30 fonts (a $45 retail value) and your choice of two free typefaces from a pre-defined list of eight (with retail values of $25 to $135 each). When you register the product, Adobe extends a one-time offer to buy any typeface on the CD for only $49 (up to $179 retail value). After registration you become eligible for monthly offers to buy certain typefaces at greatly reduced prices.

I really like this product. In addition to being the most convenient way to buy Adobe typefaces, it's a great value. I think TOC is the best way to get started with Type 1 fonts.