a or o when to use types of fonts

[EmerginT]

hi - When i am choosing a font to use in a Document - usually its Illustrator ,
when I am I supposed to pick the one with the "a" in front and when am i supposed to pick the one with the "o" or True type or something called "MM"?

[Ned]

A is Postscript (more specifically, Adobe Postscript), and O is Open Type.

Here's more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postscript_font

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenType

Avoid TrueType if you are sending fonts with your documents, as they are not cross-platform (Windows only). If this is Illustrator art though, you should be outlining your text before sending it anywhere, anyways.

[hewligan]

a = adobe postscript
o = opentype
MM = Multiple Master

For professional print work, opentype or postscript fonts are preferred. Truetype fonts are generally best avoided, though they're not nearly as likely to cause problems as they used to be.

Multiple Master fonts are all a bit odd, and probably best avoided unless you understand them - which I can't honestly say I do.

[PrintDriver]

Truetype is cross platform.
Works fine on a mac as long as the outline is good. They can cause tragedy in some rips though. There seems to be more trouble than usual with them since the dawn of Postscript Level 3.