Johannes López AyalaJul 8
Kai Bernau

Doing research for an article I had to compile this list, and friends, it sent shivers down my spine.

Linotype, 2006; China Type, 2006; Ascender Corp., 2010; Bistream, 2012; FontShop / FontFont Library, 2014; URW, 2020; FontSmith, 2020; Hoefler & Co., 2021; Berthold, 2022; Milieu Grotesque, 2023; Fontworks, 2023; 39 typeface families by David Berlow from the FontBureau Library, 2023; Colophon Foundry, 2023; SharpType library, 2024; DSType library, 2024.

Crass seeing em all together like this.

Jul 8 at 10:22amWeb
Show threadKai BernauJul 8
Let me know what I missed!
Show threadKai BernauJul 8
Of course @FontsInUse has a great list. Thank you Fontsinuse!
https://fontsinuse.com/foundry/61/monotype
Monotype

The Monotype name has been used by three distinct firms. 1. Lanston Monotype Cooperation, founded by Tolbert Lanston in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA), in 1887. In 1896 Lanston patented the first hot metal typesetting machine, known as the Monotype, see Monotype System and Monotype typefaces. Associated designers of note include Frederic W. Goudy and Sol Hess. Licenses for the Lanston type library have been acquired by P22 Type Foundry in 2004, see Lanston Type Company. 2. Monotype Corporation Limited, set up as a branch in London (UK) in 1897 under the name Lanston Monotype Corporation Ltd. Later an independent company based in Salfords. “Lanston” was dropped from the name in May 1931. A.k.a. English Monotype. Key executives included historian and adviser Stanley Morison, publicity manager Beatrice Warde, engineering expert Frank Hinman Pierpont, and draughtsman Fritz Stelzer. Associated designers include Eric Gill and Berthold Wolpe. Went into receivership in 1992. Bailed out by Microsoft “in exchange for allowing any or all of the entire MT library to be embeddable in Microsoft products” [Griffin]. 3. Monotype Imaging Inc. The successor to Monotype Corporation Ltd. was acquired by Agfa-Compugraphic in 1999 and renamed Agfa Monotype. Acquired ITC in 2000 and launched Fonts.com as font distribution website in 2001. Acquired by TA Associates, a private equity firm based in Boston in 2004, and incorporated as Monotype Imaging. Bought back Ascender Corp. in 2010, which had been formed by former employees in 2004, “taking with them quite a few major clients like Microsoft, Google, Blackberry and a few car companies.” [Griffin] Acquired by HGGC, another private equity firm, in 2019. Monotype acquired Linotype GmbH (2006), China Type Design Ltd. (2006), Ascender Corp. (2010), Bitstream Inc. incl. the major font distributor MyFonts (2012), the other major font distributor FontShop incl. the FontFont library (2014), Fontsmith (2020), URW (2020), Hoefler & Co. (Sep. 2021), the Berthold library (Aug. 2022), Milieu Grotesque and typefaces by Paulo Goode (March 2023), typefaces by David Berlow of Font Bureau (May 2023), Fontworks (July 2023), Colophon (Dec. 2023), and typefaces from Sharp Type (Feb. 2024).

Fonts In Use
Show threadErikJul 8
@kai @FontsInUse Time for a proper map. With real time updates and so on.
Show threadTypographicaJul 8
@letterror @kai I think I remember @underware working on something like that. At least they had a paper sketch they were passing around ATypI Montreal.
Show threadUnderwareJul 9

@typographica @letterror @kai This list below is probably not correct and still incomplete. But these are likely missing from your overview.

Pre-Monotype:
1996: Heidelberg buys Linotype-Hell
1997: Agfa buys Monotype
1999: Agfa-Monotype buys EyeWire Type from Getty Images
2000: Agfa-Monotype buys ITC
2004: TA Associates buys Agfa-Monotype (font sector)
2005: Agfa-Monotype renamed to Monotype Imaging

1/2

Show threadUnderwareJul 9

@typographica @letterror @kai

These are still missing from your list:
2009: Monotype buys Planetweb
2012: Monotype buys Typecast
2013: Monotype buys Stone Type Foundry
2013: Monotype buys The Foundry
2014: Monotype buys Mark Boulton
2015: Monotype buys Swyft (online stickers)
2016: Monotype buys Olapic (social media marketing software)
2019: HGGC buys Monotype
2024: Monotype buys Extensis

Again, with due reserve, list could contain mistakes, and is likely incomplete. Corrections welcome.

2/2

Show threadFonts In UseJul 9

@underware @typographica @letterror @kai Thanks! Our list focuses on font publishers/IP. But sure, all those other acquisitions add to the bigger picture, too.

More of a note than a correction: The Stone Type Foundry and The Foundry deals were framed as being about exclusive distribution rights, not full acquisitions. Not sure if there’s a difference in practice. Added. The Foundry Types has since relaunched as independent font publisher – sounds similar to Sharp Type and DSType.

Show threadFonts In UseJul 8
@kai You’re welcome! Glad you found it. Just updated to include the April 2024 acquisitions which previously were mentioned on the respective foundry pages only.
In addition to keeping track of the recent events, that page is also an attempt at educating folks that the current private equity-owned entity has little to do with the companies with which designers like Goudy and Morison were associated.
Show threadTypostropheJul 8

@FontsInUse @kai Monotype also slurped up the Image Club Typeface Library and the eyewire.com domain name from Getty Images in 2003.

https://imageclub.org

What happened to Image Club Graphics?

This site describes in brief detail what happened to Image Club Graphics, a Canadian software company.

Show threadFonts In UseJul 8
@typostrophe @kai Thank you! That info was available on the page for Image Club: https://fontsinuse.com/foundry/214/image-club Now it’s added to the Monotype page as well.
Image Club

Image Club Graphics (or ICG) was founded in Calgary by Greg Kolodziejzyk. Publisher of early digital fonts and clip art. Active from 1985–98. [Typophile] Purchased by Aldus in 1994 and rebranded as Adobe Studios in 1998. ICG was absorbed by EyeWire (then Veer and Getty) until 2003 when Monotype bought the rights to type collection. [Hutchinson] By 2020, some of the Image Club fonts were sold on Monotype platforms as part of the NicePrice Font Collection.

Fonts In Use
Show threadTypostropheJul 8
@FontsInUse @kai Oh, very good. I hadn’t visited the Fonts in Use page on Image Club for some time and didn’t realize it has that information.
Show threadTypographicaJul 8
@fhardwig That is hero’s work, thank you!
Show threadlitherlandJul 12
@FontsInUse “the current private equity-owned entity has little to do with the companies with which designers like Goudy and Morison were associated” Yes! But nevertheless benefits from the name and the history imho.
Show threadColin M. FordJul 8
@kai @FontsInUse Also a great framing for how the modern Monotype sees itself as a company... As type designers we see "Monotype" and we think of the long history of that name (#1 and #2 on that list). From my point of view, the management sees itself much more as its story starting with Agfa Compugraphic, with the Monotype stuff getting added later. It has recently become important to them, but that Monotype story isn't as central to the identity of the company as most often think it is.
Show threadDan ReynoldsJul 8
@colinmford @kai @FontsInUse 100% this! Monotype today is not “Monotype” at all. It is just Compugraphic, with a name attached that was known for cloning/ripping off successful fonts less often.
Show threadNick ShermanJul 8
@typeoff @colinmford @kai @FontsInUse As @RogerBlack once put it:
Show threadDavid BerlowJul 9
@kai a space between “Font” and “Bureau”.
Show threadKai BernauJul 9
@DABerlow noted.
Show threadDaniel CaldersJul 8
@kai There’s a chart in this post on Typedrawers: https://typedrawers.com/discussion/comment/64717#Comment_64717
Monotype acquired Colophon

https://www.monotype.com/company/press-release/acclaimed-colophon-foundry-joins-monotype-family

TypeDrawers
Show threadKai BernauJul 8
@dannycalders Thanks, great source!
Show threadOtis VerhoeveJul 8
@kai if I’m not mistaken BlazeType got acquired too in 2024
Show threadKai BernauJul 8
@knwn_relative They call it a partnership iirc.
Show threadBijou TypeJul 8
@knwn_relative @kai They did not. Just a regular distribution arrangement.
Show threadJohannes López AyalaJul 8
@kai Wait—they haven’t swallowed Elsner+Flake? I could have sworn they had. It’s too easy to lose track of their acquisitions by now.
Show threadDan ReynoldsJul 8
@jla @kai I don’t think they did, though I often wonder what happened to them.
Show threadKai BernauJul 8
@typeoff @jla they seem to be “alive” and “well”?
Show threadDan ReynoldsJul 8
@kai @jla I don’t know if the website has been updated since 2018.
Show threadKai BernauJul 8
@typeoff @jla let’s give them a call tomorrow morning and ask ;-)
Show threadJohannes López AyalaJul 8
@typeoff @kai The copyright notice sure hasn’t. But it happens to the best of us … I’ve seen major brands lagging behind 2 years in theirs.
Show threadJohannes López AyalaJul 8
@typeoff @kai Seems about “right”, judging from the web design (yes, that’s what it was called back then).
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Show threadKai BernauJul 10

@boldmonday Other than crediting Dooijes in the description text and in the colophon, what else should they have done in your opinion?

@lttrspc @underware @typographica @letterror

Show threadBold MondayJul 10
@kai @lttrspc @underware @typographica @letterror What is wrong with: “Mercator ST is a revival by […] after an original design by Dick Dooijes”? I don’t deny it takes skill to create a faithful digitization of an old typeface. But you’re not the designer of that work. Especially if you use the exact same name as the original.