WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Comic Sans® typeface, one of Microsoft’s most popular designs, has received a makeover courtesy of Monotype Imaging. Today the company has introduced the four-font Comic Sans Pro family of typefaces.

Featuring elements such as speech bubbles and cartoon dingbats, Comic Sans Pro extends the versatility of the original Comic Sans, designed by Vincent Connare for Microsoft in 1994. “Hats off to Monotype Imaging for enlivening Comic Sans and getting it back to its roots as a comic book lettering face. Now everyone can write with more panache – and look even more like a pro using swashes, small caps and other typographic embellishments,” said Connare.

“Every day, millions of people rely on Comic Sans for countless applications ranging from scrapbooking to school projects,” said Allan Haley, director of words and letters at Monotype Imaging. “Comic Sans is also a favorite in professional environments, used in medical information, instructions, ambulance signage, college exams, corporate mission statements and executive reprimands – even public letters from sports team owners to their fans. Breaking up with your spouse? Why not write a letter in Comic Sans Pro, embellished with a typographic whack!, pow! or bam! Comic Sans is everywhere, and now it’s even better.”

The Comic Sans Pro family includes regular and bold fonts, in addition to two new italic and bold italic fonts drawn by Monotype Imaging’s Terrance Weinzierl. “Our aim is to put the ‘fun’ back in ‘functional.’ We can’t wait to see Comic Sans Pro used in everything from second wedding announcements to warning labels,” said Weinzierl. “Long live Comic Sans!”

Comic Sans Pro contains a versatile range of typographic features including swashes, small caps, ornaments, old style figures and stylistic alternates – all supported by the OpenType® font format. OpenType-savvy applications, such as Adobe® Creative Suite®, QuarkXPress™ or Mellel™ software are required to access these features. Comic Sans Pro can also be used in new versions of Microsoft® Office including Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Publisher 2010. In addition, Comic Sans Pro includes a set of ornaments and symbols, including speech bubbles, onomatopoeia and dingbats, pre-sized to work well as bullets.

Availability

Based on the OpenType cross-platform format, Comic Sans Pro is available as individual fonts or as a complete four-font family pack. Each font contains more than 1,000 characters. In addition to the OpenType features, the fonts include the WGL Pan-European character set, which supports western and eastern European, Cyrillic, Greek, Turkish and Baltic languages. Comic Sans Pro fonts can be viewed, purchased and downloaded from www.fonts.com, www.linotype.com, www.ascenderfonts.com and www.itcfonts.com.

Customers may contact Monotype Imaging in the U.S. toll-free at 800-424-8973, or in Europe at (+44 0)1737 765959, or 001781 970-6020, option 2. Linotype may be reached at +49 (0) 6172 484-418. Customers from other parts of the world may dial 001 781 970-6020 (U.S.).

About Monotype Imaging

Monotype Imaging combines technology with design to help the world communicate. Based in Woburn, Mass. with offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, Monotype Imaging brings text imaging and graphical user interface capabilities to consumer electronics devices such as laser printers, copiers, mobile phones, navigation devices, digital cameras, e-book readers, digital televisions, set-top boxes and consumer appliances. The company also provides printer drivers and color imaging solutions to printer manufacturers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Monotype Imaging technologies are combined with access to more than 14,000 typefaces from the Monotype®, Linotype® and ITC® typeface libraries – home to some of the world's most widely used designs, including the Times New Roman®, Helvetica® and ITC Franklin Gothic™ typefaces. Fonts are licensed to creative, business and Web professionals through e-commerce portals, direct and indirect sales and custom design services. Monotype Imaging offers industry-standard font solutions that support all of the world’s major languages. Information about Monotype Imaging can be found at www.monotypeimaging.com.

Monotype is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Times New Roman is a trademark of The Monotype Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. ITC is a trademark of International Typeface Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. ITC Franklin Gothic is a trademark of International Typeface Corp. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Linotype is a trademark of Linotype GmbH registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Helvetica is a trademark of Linotype Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions in the name of Linotype Corp. or its licensee Linotype GmbH. Microsoft, Comic Sans and OpenType are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Adobe and Creative Suite are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. QuarkXPress is a trademark or registered trademark of Quark, Inc. and its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. Mellel is a trademark of RedleX. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2011 Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.

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