Create handwritten truetype font for free using fontcapture

Fontcapture (http://www.fontcapture.com/) is the only website I could find that offers a service to convert handwritten characters into a True Type (.ttf) font for free. It supplies you with a template to fill in each of the glyphs (characters) of the font. You can print this template, fill it by pen, and scan and upload it to the fontcapture website. The bitmaps are turned into vector paths in the background and the font is created almost instantly.

Another advantage is that if you own a tablet pc or a (Wacom) pentablet, you can use it to fill in the template digitally. No need to print and scan the template.

The mechanism can also be used to trace bitmaps, since the tool does not distinguish between characters or other designs. The result is a font with vectorized images.

Alternatives:

• Fontifier (http://www.fontifier.com/): almost identical to Fontcapture, but charges $9 per font
• Yourfonts (http://www.yourfonts.com/): almost identical to Fontcapture, but charges $9 per font
• Fontgrinder: (http://www.fontgrinder.com/): idem, but charges even more: $14.95
• Fontstruct (http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/): free, but doesn't support handwritten fonts. The website has an editor for constructing your own font from predefined building blocks. A sort of "lego-for-font" method.

UPDATE 20100106: Unfortunately, the site has been taken offline. The domain is now referring to yourfonts.com. No free alternative is available anymore.

UPDATE 20110727: There is a new website offering the same free funtionality: http://www.myscriptfont.com