Web typography just got a shot in the arm from Google, as the company has announced a free, open-source library of 18 typefaces that Web designers will now have at their disposal. Google hosts all the fonts on its servers, and offers a simple Web-based API that handles all the browser differences behind the scenes. Furthermore, Web font service provider TypeKit has partnered with Google to offer an additional open-source JavaScript library called WebFont Loader for even more control over how fonts are loaded by the browser.

The state of the art in Web typography just a few years ago consisted of relying on a short list of "Web fonts" common to nearly every platform. Anything fancier required replacing text with images, which looked great but hampered usability, especially for those with disabilities. More advanced techniques came along, but they involved replacing the text with Flash or SVG graphics instead of static images.

Though Internet Explorer was really one of the first browsers to offer support for embeddable fonts, it currently relies on the Embedded OpenType (EOT) format, which never gained much traction with font vendors. Apple threw down the Web font gauntlet by imbuing Safari 3.1 with the ability to download any TrueType or OpenType font file to use with the CSS @font-face directive. Later versions of Firefox, Opera, and Chrome now support these fonts via @font-face .

This didn't solve every problem, however. Type vendors were wary of licensing fonts for Web use and concerned about the ease with which font files could be copied. Several Web font services—notably TypeKit, Fontdeck, and Typotheque—have recently launched, providing Web designers with a hosted solution that handles the licensing of fonts as well as serving them in a way that prevents easy copying.

Several type designers also worked behind the scenes to develop a standard Web font format that would satisfy the needs of type vendors and provide a simple way for designers and developers to license and use the fonts. Called Web Open Font Format (WOFF), the format has been endorsed by a number of type designers and vendors. Mozilla already includes basic support for WOFF in the latest versions of Firefox, and is currently working on ways to implement more advanced typographic control via CSS. Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer 9 will support WOFF, and Google is integrating support into Chrome.

Just a few of the 18 typefaces Google has made freely available via its Google Font API

This week's announcement from Google, however, removes quite a bit of friction for designers wishing to use additional typefaces. The 18 typefaces, many of which include several weights and styles, were assembled by Google and are provided at no cost for designers to freely use. Google hosts the font files on its servers, and provides a very simple API for including support in designs. The API allows designers and developers to request specific fonts and styles, and will return browser-specific CSS and font files for maximum compatibility.

Among the typefaces in Google's type library are Droid Serif, Droid Sans, and Droid Mono from Google's Android operating system, the highly regarded monospaced Inconsolata, the classic serifed Cardo and Crimson Text, and modern Yanone Kaffeesatz. Google has a full list that should render each typeface in any modern browser; it also has links to quickly grab the code to embed them in your designs.

Google has also made the original font design files themselves open source. If you're an enthusiastic or merely curious type designer, you can download the files and modify them to your heart's content.

In addition to these tools, Google has partnered with TypeKit to release an open-source JavaScript library called WebFont Loader. The library gives Web developers more control over how and when font files are loaded, and how they are rendered in the browser. Using this library can help provide a more consistent user experience across browsers, and can eliminate Firefox's "text flash"—a side effect of Firefox rendering text in a default font until the custom font file is finished downloading.

WebFont Loader can be used with fonts on your own server, with Google's new font library, or with fonts you have licensed via TypeKit. Additionally, TypeKit says that the open-source code is modular and designed to easily support other type services.