How it works
This punk font generator opens in Permanent Marker, hot pink on black. Type in Your text; Enter starts a new line. Six fonts stand in for cheap tools: two markers, a typewriter, a stencil, a spray can and a glitch.
Read the full guide
Why punk lettering looks photocopied
Punk flyers and zines were pasted up and run off on copy machines, mostly in black and grey. Rough print, the opening Look, is the copier: it pushes every edge at random. Under More options, Strength of the look at 100 pushes four times as far as at 0. That worn edge is most of what a grunge font generator sells.
Two of these fonts have no small letters
Permanent Marker and Rock Salt are capitals only: a small letter comes out as a shorter capital, about five sixths the height in Permanent Marker. So Loud gives a tall first letter and LOUD an even shout. Rubik Glitch and Rubik Spray Paint were script-generated from one font and share every letter width, so swapping them moves nothing.
Tips
- Every line full width sizes each line by itself, so SHOW comes out huge and Doors at 8 stays small.
- For a flyer that looks copied, copy it: Colours on Black, Background on White, Print, then photocopy the print.
- The Black background prints as a bare outline unless you untick Print as an outline (saves ink) under More options.
Questions and answers
Is it a rock font generator too?
For the loud end of rock, yes. Permanent Marker and Rubik Spray Paint carry a headline, and Special Elite suits the dates and door prices. New look deals 18 designs, none of them a band's own lettering or logo.
Can I sell shirts or patches with this lettering?
The fonts allow it. Permanent Marker, Rock Salt and Special Elite are under the Apache License 2.0, a no-charge, royalty-free licence to reproduce and distribute. The other three are under the SIL Open Font License, whose FAQ says artwork made with a font is yours.
Is there torn paper or photocopy grain?
No. Rough print wears the edges and Halftone dots fills the letters with printed dots: that is the whole distress kit, with no torn-edge box and no speckled grain. For letters cut from different scraps of paper, use the ransom note generator.