The number of free-software fonts has exploded since 2011, thanks primarily to CSS webfont services like Google Fonts and Open Font Library. But open fonts have yet to make gains in document-creation systems beyond web pages. This is attested to by the lack of open fonts used in other service types and communities of practice, including print-on-demand publishing, print-on-demand merchandise, eReaders and EPUB generation, games, and even in the default fonts bundled into binary packages of free-software applications like LibreOffice.

This talk will look at the obstacles, bottlenecks, and disconnects that have prevented open fonts from reaching the hands of users beyond the CSS @font-face directive. These issues include missing or proprietary-format source files, licensing cruft, the user experience of discoverability and installation, build tools for font binaries, and character coverage.

We will also discuss solutions, including what distributions and upstream application projects can do to mitigate these issues as well as what the broader free-software community can do to advocate for the usage of free-software fonts in documents and display typography outside of the browser window.