)
Cricut is a manufacturer of cutting tools for design projects. They offer cutting machines, heating presses, lighting, and other materials you’ll need for everything from invitations to stationery and more. To make designing more streamlined with their products, they offer a free tool called Cricut Design Space, which includes a variety of fonts for free.
Most of the fonts in the Cricut Design Space are free for personal use only, so you will need a purchased license if you would like to use them commercially. Fonts are the intellectual property of their creators, and typically those creators want to be compensated if you use their work for profit.
Luckily, there are options for using fonts in Cricut Design Space. Let’s first look at the difference between a font that is free for personal use versus free-for-commercial use.
Personal Versus Commercial Use
There are countless websites on the internet boosting about offering free fonts. Some of those websites will tell you upfront how their fonts can be used, while others will leave terms in the fine print, which often gets overlooked. You must know the difference between personal and commercial use to protect yourself from having to permanently take down work from a platform or get sued for copyright infringement.
For Personal Use Only
Many sites on the internet offer free fonts. In fact, offering free fonts is how they lure users into clicking on their URL links. They don’t often mention outright that those fonts may be free to download but not free to use in any way that you want. The majority of the time, fonts are free for personal use only.
Personal use means that whichever way you choose to utilize the free font, whether for a fun meme or a comic illustration, it must be strictly for your own enjoyment or the enjoyment of friends. It can not be used for monetary gain in any way, shape, or form because that would be considered for commercial use.
For Personal and Commercial Use
The line between personal and commercial can often become blurred, treading in dangerous waters regarding copyright. The safest approach to using fonts is to always educate yourself on the licensing. If the font is free for personal use only, you would need to purchase the option to use it commercially.
Once you purchase that license, you can use the font for any design, illustration, or piece of merchandise regardless of profit and without fear of copyright, so long as you follow the terms of the license.
If a site is not clear on the licensing, there are plenty of external sources, like Placeit.net, with fonts that allow for personal and commercial use and offer peace of mind when it comes to the terms of use.
What Are the Options for Using Fonts in Cricut Design Space?
You have a Cricut cutting machine or heating press, and you would like to use their design tool because it’s free and because you like the idea of an end-to-end user experience. Just because the Cricut included fonts require licensing to use commercially, it doesn’t mean you have to forsake the tool altogether.
When it comes to using fonts in the Cricut Design Space, there are three options:
- Purchase the license for the Cricut fonts
- Find “free-for-commercial use” fonts from a different site to upload
- Retain the tool and included fonts for personal use only
Let’s delve deeper into how each option works for you and your design needs.
Purchase the License
The easiest option for using Cricut fonts commercially is to buy the license. The wonderful thing about the purchase is that once you have the license, it’s yours from that point on, and you can use that font for any number of projects. Cricut fonts are reasonably priced compared to some of their competitors. The majority of them are offered at $4.99.
This suggestion is based on the nature of your business with design. If this is a one-time project, parting with $4.99 is a reasonable expense, but if you are creating merchandise to sell and need a library of fonts, then the cost of fonts like this can add up. Fortunately, there are other options for your needs.
Upload Fonts From Other Sites
One of the most convenient elements of the Cricut Design Space is the ability to upload fonts you download from other sites to be used in the tool. Since there are so many websites that offer free fonts, you can most certainly find various fonts that are free-for-commercial use.
While you may not be paying for the right to use these fonts commercially with cash, you will be paying with your time. Finding sites that offer free fonts is fast. Combing through them individually to locate and read the terms of use will take some person-hours, but it may be worth the effort if you can save your hard-earned coin.
Use Tool and Fonts for Personal Projects
Since you’ve clicked on this article, the assumption is that you are looking for information on fonts to use commercially. Regardless, that doesn’t negate personal projects that a tool like this could be utilized for if you don’t want to pay for licensing or take time from your busy schedule to look for free commercial-use fonts.
You may have other design applications that already house a library of fonts ready to be used commercially, so you don’t need this free tool to conduct your business. It could be nice to have a design tool for personal ideas and projects separate from your business designs. You can even upload fonts you’ve already purchased for your other design application to be used in Cricut Design Space.
Conclusion
Now you’re educated on how you can use fonts, whether personally or commercially, and your options for finding fonts for those needs. Whether you invest money in licensing or time in finding free-for-commercial use fonts, you can have what you need for your designs.
