The Story of FF Trixie

FF Trixie, the original Instant Type, was taken directly from a typewriter that belonged to a woman whose name was Trixie (Beatrix in full). Two of the many movie promotions over the years that starred FF Trixie.

Since its release in 1991, from “The X-Files” to “Atonement”, FF Trixie has served as the defacto typeface of mystery and intrigue. For years, it was the most convincing typewriter font available, but FontFont veteran Erik van Blokland was not satisfied. Early printing and operating systems could only handle so many points per font, so FF Trixie’s outlines weren’t as realistic as he wanted.

Enter OpenType. Now that technology has caught up with his vision, Van Blokland has thrown everything he can at it. The new FF Trixie offers Rough variations that have more detail for use at larger sizes, yet keep the same overall shape as the originals.

But the real advancement is found in FF Trixie HD, which contains seven alternates for each character, each with its own weight and texture. Just like typewritten forms, the letters dance on the baseline and reveal the effect of ink on the ribbon. Van Blokland didn’t stop there. Playing with OpenType’s ability to automatically substitute glyphs, he added a variety of clever effects such as more erratic baseline shifting, both true and faux Greek and Cyrillic, and censor simulation.

FF Trixie HD sets a new standard for detail and realism. We can safely say no digital font comes closer to emulating a mechanical typewriter. See the Tech Specs for more information about the available formats and packages.