More on Samantha

The most popular lady in all of Font Land, Samantha, is still on sale and continuing to generate lots and lots of buzz, and questions.
The information below also applies to Zelda, Dom loves Mary, Gioviale, FunkiDori and this fantastic bundle of 8 more Laura Worthington fonts which are also on sale right now.

I have spent a lot of time fielding your questions and finding the best procedures, so here is the latest info our lady Samantha (and all of her specially PUA-encoded friends from Laura Worthington, Debi Sementelli , YellowDesign and Stephen Rapp.)

Where’s the best place to get Samantha?

The best place to buy is Mighty Deals, when it is for sale there it is deeply discounted.

Which package should I buy?

$17 Upright includes Upright Regular version of font plus matching alternate characters (with swirls), ornaments and catchwords

$17 Italic included Italic Regular version of font plus matching alternate characters (with swirls), ornaments and catchwords

$37 package includes Upright Regular, Upright Bold, Italic Regular and Italic Bold plus matching alternate characters (with swirls), ornaments and catchwords for each of those four versions

$55 package includes Upright Regular, Upright Bold, Italic Regular and Italic Bold plus matching alternate characters (with swirls), ornaments and catchwords for each of those four versions plus the versions you need if you are a web designer serving live type on the web. If you don’t know what web fonts are then you do not need them.

Can’t you just recommend something?

If you use the Cricut Explore, I recommend the $37 package so you will have the bold versions. (no offset in Design Space, boo)

If you have the free version of Silhouette Studio, I recommend the $17 Upright version and the $17 Italic version. You can “bold” your fonts with the offset feature.

If you have other cutting software, I recommend the $17 Upright version. You can “bold” your fonts with offset and “italicize” them with the shear tool.

Are these OK for commercial use?

Yes, these fonts are also licensed for use on items diecutters typically sell (words and phrases, not individual characters). For licensing details please see Laura’s FAQ’s.

How do I install them?

Unzip the folder and double click on the font file you want to install. Click the install button. You should see the fonts in the font list in your software the next time you open it or log on. You can find more specific instructions for installing fonts for your operating system in your computer’s help.

Which fonts do I install?

Either OTF or TTF, not both. For Mac I recommend installing all OTF files. For Windows I recommend installing all TTF files. That is just what seems to be working best for me.

I installed 4 fonts but only see 2 listed in my software.

This is normal, regular and bold are combined from your computer’s perspective.

How do I access the extra glyphs?

That depends on your OS and the software you want to use it in…

Windows Cricut Design Space via Character Map (built in)

Windows Microsoft Word (including on to Cricut Design Space)

 Click here for my video tutorial

Windows Cricut Design Space via BabelMap (free download)

Windows Inkscape via BabelMap (free downloads)

Windows/Mac Adobe Illustrator (including on to Cricut Design Space)

Windows Silhouette Studio via Character Map (built in)

Also please see this link for written instructions and a couple of corrections.

Mac Cricut Design Space via Font Book (built in)

Mac Silhouette Studio via Font Book (built in)

Windows SCAL 3, Mac SCAL4

Also please see my last blog post about SCAL here

Mac – other programs

Mac – earlier versions (10.6-10.8)

I’m using Windows Character Map, but the glyphs are so small.

Here are some ways to see them better

Use Nexus Font’s character map instead – Written tutorial from Silhouette Crafters

Use Microsoft Word instead – video tutorial by me here

Use the Magnifier – Written tutorial from Under A Cherry Tree

I found the Private Use Area but it is empty.

You likely have an earlier version of Samantha and need to email designer Laura Worthington (hello at LauraWorthingtonType dot com) with your receipt so she can send you the latest version.

If you are using a font other than Samantha, it may not be coded to use with these tutorials. Please check with the designer to see if the font is “PUA encoded.”

I get an error in Cricut Design Space on my Mac when I select Samantha.

This is a bug in Design Space affecting Samantha Italic. Workaround is to wait it out, then choose Italic from the style menu and proceed. And/or email designer Laura Worthington (hello at LauraWorthingtonType dot com) with your receipt and ask her for the split version

It sounds so complicated.

Samantha is an advanced font that requires advanced techniques but yields advanced results. I recommend that anyone who is apprehensive download Milkshake, which is a free font by the same designer. It has a limited number of alternate characters but enough that you can practice the steps that are needed.

Can I download it to more than one computer?

Yes the license allows for one person on up to five workstations.

How can I print out all the characters?

There is a PDF for that here.

How can I get access to the special characters on my iPad?

You will need 2 additional apps to access the special characters in Samantha in the Cricut Design Space iPad app. One called AnyFont that lets you install fonts on your iPad. The other app called Unicode Character Viewer to let you access the special characters.

I am having trouble using Samantha in Cricut Design Space since the 2.0 update. Any advice?

Try this sequence: Click to make a new text box, type some dummy text from the keyboard, change it to Samantha. If it will not let you change the font, click on the mat and back onto the font box to re-select it and try again. Once you have Samantha selected, paste in your characters from Character Map, Font Book or whatever you use to access the alternates.

The characters I copied, don’t match the ones I pasted.

If the characters don’t match what you copied, try different versions/styles of Samantha (bold, bold italic, etc) because they have to match or you can get the wrong characters.