Fonts in LaTeX

Complete guide to font selection, customization, and typography in LaTeX. Learn about font families, packages, and advanced font features.

Typography is crucial for professional documents. This guide covers everything from basic font selection to advanced typography features in LaTeX.

Compiler note: For system fonts and advanced typography, use XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX. For traditional LaTeX fonts, pdfLaTeX works perfectly.

Font Basics

The Three Font Attributes

LaTeX fonts have three independent attributes:

font-attributes.tex

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

% Family (shape of letters)
\textrm{Roman family (serif)}
\textsf{Sans serif family}
\texttt{Typewriter family (monospace)}

% Series (weight/width)
\textmd{Medium series (normal)}
\textbf{Bold series}

% Shape (slant/style)
\textup{Upright shape}
\textit{Italic shape}
\textsl{Slanted shape}
\textsc{Small Caps Shape}

\end{document}

Combining Font Attributes

combining-fonts.tex

% All combinations work
\textsf{\textbf{Sans serif bold}}
\texttt{\textit{Typewriter italic}}
\textrm{\textbf{\textit{Roman bold italic}}}
\textsc{\textbf{Bold Small Caps}}

% Using declarations
{\sffamily\bfseries\itshape Sans serif bold italic}

Font Packages (pdfLaTeX)

Popular Font Packages

font-packages.tex

\documentclass{article}

% Times-like fonts
\usepackage{mathptmx}  % Times with math support
% or
\usepackage{newtxtext,newtxmath}  % New TX fonts

% Palatino-like fonts
\usepackage{mathpazo}  % Palatino with math
% or
\usepackage{newpxtext,newpxmath}  % New PX fonts

% Computer Modern variants
\usepackage{lmodern}   % Latin Modern
\usepackage{cm-super}  % CM Super

% Sans serif as default
\usepackage{helvet}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}

% Other popular choices
\usepackage{fourier}   % Utopia
\usepackage{libertine} % Linux Libertine
\usepackage{kpfonts}   % KP Fonts

\begin{document}
Your text here...
\end{document}

Font Package Comparison

Package	Style	Math Support	Use Case
lmodern	Modern	Yes	Default improvement
mathptmx	Times	Yes	Traditional papers
helvet	Helvetica	No	Modern look
mathpazo	Palatino	Yes	Books, elegant
libertine	Libertine	Yes	Professional
fourier	Utopia	Yes	Technical docs

System Fonts (XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX)

Using System Fonts

system-fonts.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}

% Set main font
\setmainfont{Times New Roman}
\setsansfont{Arial}
\setmonofont{Consolas}

% With options
\setmainfont{Georgia}[
  BoldFont = Georgia Bold,
  ItalicFont = Georgia Italic,
  BoldItalicFont = Georgia Bold Italic
]

% Alternative syntax
\setmainfont[
  Ligatures=TeX,
  Numbers=OldStyle,
  Scale=1.0
]{Minion Pro}

\begin{document}
This document uses system fonts directly!
\end{document}

Font Selection by Name

font-by-name.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}

% Define custom font commands
\newfontfamily\headingfont{Helvetica Neue}
\newfontfamily\specialfont{Zapfino}
\newfontfamily\codefont{Source Code Pro}

\begin{document}

{\headingfont\Large This is a heading in Helvetica Neue}

Regular text in the main font.

{\specialfont Special decorative text}

{\codefont\small Code examples in Source Code Pro}

\end{document}

Font Features

OpenType Features (XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX)

opentype-features.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}

\setmainfont{EB Garamond}[
  Ligatures={Common, Rare},
  Numbers=OldStyle,
  Contextuals=Alternate,
  Style=Historic
]

% Specific features
\newfontfamily\displayfont{Adobe Garamond Pro}[
  Numbers={Proportional,OldStyle},
  Letters=SmallCaps,
  Ligatures={Common,Discretionary}
]

\begin{document}

% Ligatures
Office, shelf, affiliate (fi, fl, ffi ligatures)

% Old style numbers
Regular: 0123456789 vs {\addfontfeatures{Numbers=OldStyle}0123456789}

% Small caps
{\scshape Small Capitals Text}

% Stylistic sets
{\addfontfeatures{StylisticSet=1}Stylistic Variant}

\end{document}

Microtype Package

microtype.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{microtype}

% Full features (pdfLaTeX)
\usepackage[
  protrusion=true,
  expansion=true,
  tracking=true,
  kerning=true,
  spacing=true
]{microtype}

% Fine-tuning
\microtypesetup{
  protrusion={true,alltext},
  expansion={true,alltext,compat}
}

\begin{document}
Microtype improves typography through:
\begin{itemize}
\item Character protrusion (margin kerning)
\item Font expansion (better justification)
\item Tracking (letter spacing)
\item Additional kerning
\end{itemize}

The improvements are subtle but create more professional results.
\end{document}

Font Sizes

Changing Font Size

font-sizes.tex

\documentclass[12pt]{article}  % Base size: 10pt, 11pt, or 12pt

% Exact sizes
\fontsize{14}{17}\selectfont  % 14pt font, 17pt baseline
This text is exactly 14 points.

% Relative sizes
{\tiny Tiny text (5pt at 10pt base)}
{\small Small text (9pt at 10pt base)}
{\large Large text (12pt at 10pt base)}
{\Huge Huge text (25pt at 10pt base)}

% Custom size commands
\newcommand{\customsize}{\fontsize{13}{16}\selectfont}
{\customsize Custom 13pt text}

Size Commands Reference

Command	10pt Article	11pt Article	12pt Article
\tiny	5pt	6pt	6pt
\scriptsize	7pt	8pt	8pt
\footnotesize	8pt	9pt	10pt
\small	9pt	10pt	10.95pt
\normalsize	10pt	10.95pt	12pt
\large	12pt	12pt	14.4pt
\Large	14.4pt	14.4pt	17.28pt
\LARGE	17.28pt	17.28pt	20.74pt
\huge	20.74pt	20.74pt	24.88pt
\Huge	24.88pt	24.88pt	24.88pt

Mathematical Fonts

Math Font Packages

math-fonts.tex

% Matching text and math fonts
\usepackage{mathptmx}     % Times
\usepackage{mathpazo}     % Palatino
\usepackage{fourier}      % Utopia
\usepackage{newtxmath}    % Times (modern)
\usepackage{newpxmath}    % Palatino (modern)
\usepackage{eulervm}      % Euler math
\usepackage{stix2}        % STIX fonts

% Math alphabets
\usepackage{amsfonts}
\usepackage{amssymb}
\usepackage{mathrsfs}     % \mathscr
\usepackage{bbm}          % \mathbbm

% Usage
$\mathbb{R}$, $\mathcal{A}$, $\mathscr{L}$, $\mathfrak{g}$

Unicode Math (XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX)

unicode-math.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{unicode-math}

% Set math font
\setmathfont{XITS Math}
% or
\setmathfont{Latin Modern Math}
% or
\setmathfont{TeX Gyre Termes Math}

% With options
\setmathfont{Cambria Math}[
  Scale=MatchLowercase,
  math-style=ISO,
  bold-style=ISO
]

\begin{document}
Unicode math allows: $α + β = γ$ and $∫_0^∞ e^{-x²} dx = \frac{√π}{2}$
\end{document}

Special Typography

Drop Caps

drop-caps.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{lettrine}
\begin{document}

\lettrine[lines=3]{O}{nce upon a time}, in a land far away, 
there lived a typographer who loved beautiful drop caps. 
This elegant initial letter adds a classic touch to the 
beginning of chapters or sections.

\lettrine[lines=2,loversize=0.1]{T}{his} is a smaller drop cap.

\end{document}

Custom Fonts for Special Text

special-fonts.tex

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontspec}  % XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX

% Define special purpose fonts
\newfontfamily\chapterfont{Bebas Neue}
\newfontfamily\quotefont{Crimson Text}[Scale=1.1]
\newfontfamily\emojifont{Apple Color Emoji}  % or Noto Color Emoji

\begin{document}

{\chapterfont\Huge Chapter One}

{\quotefont\itshape "Beautiful typography is invisible, 
yet it shapes how we perceive the written word."}

{\emojifont 😊 📚 ✨}  % Emoji support!

\end{document}

Font Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

font-fixes.tex

% Font not found (XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX)
\setmainfont{Arial}[
  Extension = .ttf,
  Path = /path/to/fonts/,
  UprightFont = *-Regular,
  BoldFont = *-Bold,
  ItalicFont = *-Italic
]

% Missing characters
\usepackage{textcomp}  % Additional symbols
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}  % Better encoding

% Font substitution warnings
\usepackage{silence}
\WarningFilter{latexfont}{Font shape}

% Check available fonts (XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX)
% Run in terminal: fc-list : family

Best Practices

Font guidelines:

1. Consistency: Use maximum 2-3 font families per document
2. Readability: Test fonts at actual reading size
3. Purpose: Match font to document type (serif for print, sans for screen)
4. Licensing: Ensure fonts are properly licensed
5. Fallbacks: Provide alternatives for missing fonts
6. Testing: Check output on different systems/viewers

Font Comparison

For Traditional Documents

• Times (mathptmx)
• Palatino (mathpazo)
• Computer Modern (default)
• Latin Modern (lmodern)

For Modern Documents

• Helvetica (helvet)
• Open Sans
• Source Sans Pro
• Roboto

For Technical Documents

• Computer Modern
• STIX Two
• Libertinus
• KP Fonts

For Books

• Minion Pro
• Sabon
• Garamond
• Baskerville

Quick Reference

Task	pdfLaTeX	XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX
Times font	\usepackage{mathptmx}	\setmainfont{Times New Roman}
Sans default	\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}	\setmainfont{Arial}
Math fonts	\usepackage{newtxmath}	\usepackage{unicode-math}
Custom font	Use packages	\newfontfamily\myfont{FontName}

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Next: Learn about Mathematical equations to create complex mathematical expressions with proper formatting.