Times Font and Bold Weight
What the Times font is, how Times Bold differs from the regular weight, how to tell it apart from Times New Roman and its clones in a logo, and what that means for editable vector files.
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When people say they need the Times font, they usually mean one member of a closely related family of serif typefaces. That family began with Times New Roman, which was commissioned by The Times newspaper in London and developed under the typographer Stanley Morison. Today the name covers Times New Roman from Monotype, Times from Linotype, and several metric-compatible substitutes. Times Bold is the heavier weight of that design. It is a separately drawn style, not the regular weight with thicker outlines. If a logo appears to use Times Bold, you first need to establish which version it is and whether the artwork contains live type or outlined vector shapes.
No specific logo, file or source document came with this request. This article therefore explains how the typeface family works and how to assess it in logo artwork. It cannot confirm the font, version or file structure of any particular logo.
Times, Times New Roman and the clones
The two main commercial versions come from the same original design. They have slightly different digital histories. Times New Roman is the Monotype version and the one commonly bundled with Windows. Times, sometimes labelled Times Roman, is the Linotype version and the one commonly found on Apple systems and in older PostScript workflows. At logo sizes the two look nearly the same. Small differences can still appear in individual letterforms, spacing and kerning.
| Name | Origin | Typical context | Relevance to logo identification |
| Times New Roman | Monotype | Bundled with Windows and Microsoft Office | Often the default assumption for any Times-style lettering |
| Times / Times Roman | Linotype | Bundled with macOS; part of the classic PostScript core fonts | Can be mistaken for Times New Roman; check glyph details when an exact match matters |
| Liberation Serif | Open-source substitute | Common on Linux and in LibreOffice | Matches Times New Roman spacing, but individual glyphs are drawn differently |
| TeX Gyre Termes / Nimbus Roman | URW-based substitutes | TeX and open-source environments | Very close in appearance; a logo built in these tools may use one instead of the commercial font |
Metric compatibility means the substitute matches character widths, so text reflows the same way. It does not mean every letter has the same shape. A logo that looks like Times may have been set in any of these fonts. It may also have been set in Times and then customised by hand.
How the bold weight differs
Times Bold and Times New Roman Bold were drawn as their own styles. The type designer thickened the vertical stems more than the hairlines, so the bold keeps strong thick-thin contrast. The designer also adjusted counters, serifs and spacing so the letters stay legible. The bold weight therefore looks darker and slightly wider while keeping the newspaper character of the regular style.
Software can also make a "faux" bold when the true bold file isn't installed. It does this by adding a stroke to the regular outlines or by algorithmically expanding them. Faux bold usually thickens every part of the letter evenly. This flattens the contrast, softens the serifs and can fill in small counters. If a logo's bold lettering looks evenly heavy and slightly blobby, it may be synthesised bold rather than the real Times Bold.
Recognising Times-style lettering in a logo
- Bracketed serifs: the serifs join the stems with a small curve rather than a hard right angle.
- Noticeable contrast between thick stems and thin hairlines, which stays visible in the bold weight.
- Fairly compact, economical proportions, designed to fit more text into newspaper columns.
- A relatively large x-height for a traditional serif, so lowercase letters look substantial next to capitals.
- Ball or teardrop terminals on letters such as a, c, f and r in the lowercase.
Font-identification tools that match letters from an image can suggest candidates. They often return several near-identical Times variants, though, and they cannot see whether a designer changed the letters. When the exact font matters, compare distinctive capitals and lowercase letters against each candidate side by side. Also check the spacing between letters, not just their shapes.
What this means for vector logo files
A logo set in Times Bold can reach you in three structurally different forms, and the file extension does not tell you which one you have. An SVG, EPS, AI or PDF file may contain live text, outlined vector paths or an embedded raster image. Open the file in a vector editor and inspect the objects before assuming any lettering is editable.
- Live text: the lettering is still a text object that refers to a font name. It stays editable as type, but it only displays correctly if that font, or an acceptable substitute, is installed. Otherwise the software may silently swap in a different serif.
- Outlined text: the letters have been converted to vector paths. They will look the same everywhere and scale cleanly. You can no longer retype them, but you can edit them as shapes.
- Embedded raster or preview image: the lettering is a pixel image inside a vector container, or the file only shows a low-resolution preview. It will not scale cleanly and is not true vector artwork.
In an SVG, the difference between live and outlined lettering is visible in the markup. The first example below depends on the viewer having the font. The second carries the letter shapes as path data. The path coordinates are shortened here for illustration.
<!-- Live text: depends on an installed font -->
<text x="0" y="40" font-family="Times New Roman, Times, serif" font-weight="bold">BRAND</text>
<!-- Outlined text: letter shapes stored as vector paths -->
<path d="M0 40 L12 0 ... Z" fill="#000"/>For final logo delivery, outlined lettering is usually the safer choice for display and print, because it removes the font dependency. A separate working file with live type is useful if the wording may need to change. In that case, record the exact font name and weight, for example Times New Roman Bold rather than just Times, so the next person can reproduce it.
Licensing and permission caveats
Having Times Bold installed through an operating system or office suite does not automatically settle how you may use it. The font's licence governs whether you can use it in commercial artwork, embed it in distributed files or pass the font file to someone else. The terms differ between Monotype, Linotype and open-source versions, so check the licence for the specific version you have. Downloading a logo that uses Times is also separate from having permission to modify it or use it. The logo's design and trademark rights belong to its owner, whatever font the lettering came from.