How to convert OTF to PFB
- Add your .OTF file - drop it in the box above or click to browse.
- Convert it to .PFB in a few seconds.
- Download your new .PFB file.
What to expect
- All OpenType features - ligatures, small caps, contextual alternates, and advanced kerning - are permanently lost; Type 1 stores only the base glyph set.
- Type 1 fonts support a maximum of 256 glyphs per file; OTF fonts with extended Latin, Cyrillic, or other scripts will lose those extra glyphs silently.
- Adobe retired Type 1 in 2023 and macOS Ventura dropped support; any workflow still depending on
.pfbshould migrate to OTF where possible.
Frequently asked questions
Does the converted PFB font look the same as the OTF?
For basic Latin characters the outlines are transferred with minimal visible change, since both formats use cubic Bézier curves. Hinting quality and advanced typographic features will differ or be absent entirely.
Do I need any files besides the .pfb?
Yes - most Type 1 consumers also require a companion metrics file (
.afm for PostScript workflows, .pfm for Windows). FontForge generates these alongside the .pfb; keep them together or the font may not load correctly.What is the difference between .pfb and .pfa?
Both are Adobe Type 1 formats.
.pfa stores outline data as plain ASCII hex (traditionally used on Unix and macOS), while .pfb packs the same data in a compact binary encoding used on Windows. They are structurally equivalent.Can I batch-convert multiple OTF files to PFB?
Yes - FontForge supports scripting so you can loop over a folder of
.otf files and generate .pfb output for each in a single command-line run.Programs that convert OTF: Fontographer · TypeTool · Fontographer for Mac · TypeTool for Mac · FreeFontConverter · Online font converter
