Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: TYPE), a leading provider of typefaces, technology and expertise for creative applications and consumer devices, has acquired Design By Front Limited, developers of the Typecast™ application, a browser-based tool for designing Web pages with Web fonts.

Monotype acquired all outstanding shares of the privately-held, 14-person firm based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for up to $5.1 million in cash. Monotype paid $2.6 million in cash upon closing, with an additional $100,000 accrued pending final adjustments, with the remainder to be paid contingent on attainment of certain performance criteria through 2014.

The acquisition is expected to enhance Monotype’s product offering, add complementary skill sets to the company’s creative expertise, and strengthen Monotype’s growth businesses, particularly in Web font services.

“Typecast fits neatly into our strategy of adding IP that complements our solutions and provides meaningful value to customers,” said Doug Shaw, president and chief executive officer of Monotype. “The Web has become a critical publishing platform, where brands need to represent themselves with clarity and consistency across connected devices. As a typographic design tool, we believe Typecast has the potential to take Web fonts to a whole new level of productivity and creative expression. We’re excited to welcome the Typecast team and to add this innovative technology to our solutions portfolio.”

“Good typography is essential for Web design. That’s the fundamental idea behind Typecast,” said Paul McKeever, managing director and co-founder of Design By Front. “We created Typecast simply to make it easier to work with Web fonts, and to give Web designers precise typographic control to make the Web a more beautiful, readable place. We look forward to bringing to the Web design community a powerful application that’s actually easy and fun to use.”

Employees of the newly acquired company will continue to work from their current locations, with the Belfast office serving as the main development hub for Typecast.

Currently in public beta, Typecast enables Web designers to combine, compare and style Web fonts quickly without performing screen captures in third-party applications or through hand coding. Users can visually style text directly within the browser, which offers more scope for creative experimentation, better typographic control as well as a simplified workflow, thanks to Typecast’s ability to generate production-ready HTML and CSS code behind the scenes, as designers work.

Web designers are also free to make various adjustments such as font size, line spacing and coloring, in addition to employing OpenType® features including ligatures, small caps, fractions, lining and old style figures, and swash characters. Designers can try fonts with all pieces of content, not just small snippets. Side-by-side comparison and testing allow users to see at a glance what’s working and what’s not. Styles can be adjusted across entire projects with just a few clicks.

Typecast will be offered alongside Monotype’s Web font solution, combining high-quality Web fonts with Typecast’s easy-to-use typographic design capabilities. Monotype’s Fonts.com Web Fonts features thousands of typefaces, including timeless designs such as the Trade Gothic®, Avenir® and ITC Avant Garde Gothic® families, in addition to cutting-edge selections and hand-tuned fonts. Typecast customers, however, can continue using any Web font solution that Typecast supports, including the Fonts.com Web Fonts, Typekit®, Fontdeck® and Google® Web Fonts offerings.

Typecast represents the latest innovation in Monotype’s portfolio of products aimed at enhancing productivity and creative expression for today’s graphics professionals. Last month, Monotype announced its SkyFonts™ service, now in private beta, which expands creative freedom through cloud-based, rental access to fully functional desktop fonts. Customers are able to try thousands of fonts for free within any desktop application and then rent selected fonts for as long as they’re needed.

Further information about Typecast, including a video that details the application, is available at http://typecast.com/monotype-acquires-design-by-front.

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including those related to expected growth in Monotype Imaging’s offerings to manufacturers of consumer electronics devices, that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: risks associated with changes in the economic climate, risks associated with the company’s ability to integrate the products, and risks associated with the company’s ability to integrate the acquisition. Additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by the company is available in the company’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors included in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011, as amended, and subsequent filings. The financial information set forth in this press release reflects estimates based on information available at this time. While Monotype Imaging may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, even if an estimate changes.

About Monotype Imaging

Monotype Imaging is a leading global provider of typefaces, technology and expertise that enable the best user experience and ensure brand integrity. Based in Woburn, Mass., Monotype provides customers worldwide with typeface solutions for a broad range of creative applications and consumer devices. The company’s library and e-commerce sites are home to many of the most widely used typefaces – including the Helvetica®, Frutiger® and Univers® families – as well as the next generation of type designs. Further information is available at www.monotypeimaging.com.

Monotype is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. SkyFonts is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. Typecast is a trademark of Design By Front Limited. Avenir, Trade Gothic, Helvetica and Frutiger are trademarks of Linotype Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions in the name of Linotype Corp. or its licensee Linotype GmbH. Univers is a trademark of Linotype GmbH registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. ITC Avant Garde Gothic is a trademark of International Typeface Corp. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. OpenType is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Typekit is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Fontdeck is a registered trademark of Clearleft Ltd. Google is a registered trademark of Google Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 Monotype Imaging Inc. All rights reserved.