What is SFD?

Spline Font Database (SFD) is the native project file format for FontForge, an open-source font editor for font design.

What is PFB?

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

When Should You Use SFD vs PFB?

SFD vs PFB: Key Differences

• •SFD and PFB 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.
• •How transparency is handled: PFB supports transparency, so alpha information is preserved during conversion.
• •Storage footprint: Larger than production fonts due to editing metadata for SFD vs 15-80KB per font, smaller than PFA for PFB.
• •Primary audience: SFD is built for font design and editing, fontforge projects scenarios, while PFB focuses on professional printing, legacy typesetting — pick the format that matches your output requirement.

Advantages of SFD

• ✓SFD uses lossless compression tailored for Font design and editing, FontForge projects.
• ✓SFD is supported natively on virtually every device, browser, and operating system.
• ✓SFD files are bit-for-bit perfect, preserving every pixel and sample for professional work.
• ✓SFD integrates seamlessly with all major creative tools and workflows.

Advantages of PFB

• ✓At its core, PFB relies on lossless encoding — a design choice that makes it perfect for Professional printing, legacy typesetting.
• ✓You won't run into compatibility issues with PFB — it's a universal standard across platforms.
• ✓File size management with PFB: larger files guaranteed to match the original exactly.
• ✓Every major application in the Professional printing, legacy typesetting space supports PFB natively.

Common Use Cases for SFD to PFB Conversion

• Website typography
• Brand identity
• Print design
• Mobile apps
• Desktop publishing
• E-book formatting

Industry Applications

Best Practices for SFD to PFB Conversion

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

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

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