CFF to PICON Converter

Render CFF font glyphs as small PICON thumbnail images online

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Tiny Icons

PICON creates ultra-small glyph thumbnails from CFF fonts — ideal for personal icons, compact previews, and Unix desktop personalization.

Cloud-Based

No image tools or Unix utilities needed on your machine. Convertio processes CFF to PICON rendering on its servers.

Instant Rendering

The tiny PICON dimensions mean conversion finishes almost instantly, delivering your miniature glyph icon without any wait.

How to convert CFF to PICON

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose picon or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your picon file right afterwards

About formats

CFF (Compact Font Format) is a font outline format developed by Adobe Systems around 1996 as a more efficient successor to the Type 1 font representation. CFF uses Type 2 charstrings — an optimized encoding that supports multiple arguments per operator, default value elision, and shared subroutines — to describe the same cubic Bezier glyph outlines as Type 1 but with substantially less storage. A typical CFF font is 20-50% smaller than its Type 1 equivalent. The format can function as a standalone font file or, more commonly, as the outline data table inside an OpenType font container (the CFF table in OTF files with PostScript outlines). CFF supports multiple fonts within a single file through its FontSet structure, sharing global subroutines across the collection to further reduce size. One advantage is compression efficiency without lossy degradation — every control point and hint is preserved exactly, just encoded more compactly. The format also inherits the full hinting capability of Type 1, including stem hints, counter hints, and alignment zones that ensure crisp rendering on low-resolution screens and printers. CFF2, an evolution introduced with OpenType 1.8, adds support for font variations (variable fonts) by allowing interpolation across multiple design axes. Broad support in PDF viewers, web browsers via OpenType, and professional design software makes CFF one of the most widely deployed outline formats in digital typography.
Developer: Adobe Systems
Initial release: 1996
PICON (Personal Icon) is a small-format image type used in the X Window System ecosystem, developed by Steve Kinzler at Indiana University around 1990 as part of the picons (personal icons) database project. Picons are small, typically 48x48 pixel, color images used as visual identifiers for people, organizations, domains, and Usenet newsgroups in Unix mail readers, news readers, and other communication tools. The picon format is essentially an XPM (X PixMap) image stored with specific naming conventions and directory structures that allow software to look up the appropriate icon based on email address, domain name, or newsgroup name. The picons database organized thousands of these small images in a hierarchical directory structure keyed by domain name components (e.g., faces/com/example/user.xpm), enabling mail clients like exmstrstrstr and faces to automatically display a sender's photo or organizational logo alongside their messages. The system predated the modern concept of contact photos and avatars by more than a decade. One advantage is the system's pioneering role in visual identity for electronic communication: picons introduced the idea that email and Usenet messages should display a visual representation of the sender — a concept that eventually became standard in every modern email client, messaging app, and social media platform. The XPM-based format ensures that picons are displayable on any system with X Window libraries. Picon images are supported by ImageMagick, GIMP, and X Window display utilities, and the historical picons database remains archived online at Indiana University.
Developer: Steve Kinzler
Initial release: 1990

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert CFF to PICON?

PICON is a tiny, low-resolution image format used for personal icons and thumbnails. Converting CFF to PICON creates compact glyph icons for display purposes.

How do I open a PICON file?

PICON files can be opened by ImageMagick and some Unix-based image viewers. The format is based on XPM, making it readable as text in any editor.

What size are PICON images?

PICON images are intentionally small — typically 48x48 pixels or similar. They are designed for thumbnail previews and personal icon displays.

Is PICON widely used?

PICON is a niche Unix format for small personal icons. For broader thumbnail needs, consider PNG or ICO as more widely supported alternatives.

Is CFF to PICON free?

Yes — Convertio offers CFF to PICON conversion at no cost, entirely browser-based with no installs required.