PFB to OTB Converter

Render PFB font glyphs as OTB bitmaps — free online

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Embedded-Ready

OTB bitmaps are sized for constrained displays — render PFB font glyphs into images that small screens can display efficiently.

Vector to Bitmap

Reduce PFB cubic Bézier outlines to compact OTB rasters tailored for environments where vector rendering is unavailable.

Server Rendering

Processing runs on Convertio servers — no bitmap tools or font editors needed on your local device.

How to convert PFB to OTB

1

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

2

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

3

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

About formats

PFB (Printer Font Binary) is the compact binary representation of Adobe's PostScript Type 1 font format, introduced alongside PFA in 1984. Where PFA stores the entire font program as hex-encoded ASCII text, PFB wraps the same data in a lightweight binary container that uses segment headers to mark regions as ASCII or binary. The encrypted glyph outline section (eexec) is stored as raw bytes rather than hex characters, cutting the file size roughly in half compared to PFA. Each segment begins with a marker byte and a 32-bit length field, making the format simple to parse while still significantly more compact. PFB became the dominant Type 1 distribution format on Windows and DOS platforms, used in combination with PFM (Printer Font Metrics) or AFM files that supply the character width and kerning data needed for text layout. One advantage is storage and transfer efficiency — the binary encoding means a typical text font occupies 30-50 KB rather than the 60-100 KB its PFA equivalent would require. The segmented structure also allows PostScript interpreters to stream font data efficiently, processing ASCII and binary portions with their respective handlers. Adobe Type Manager (ATM) on Windows relied on PFB files to render smooth Type 1 text on screen, a capability that transformed desktop publishing on the PC platform. While OpenType fonts have largely replaced Type 1 for new work, PFB files persist in established print workflows, archival font libraries, and systems that depend on PostScript output.
Developer: Adobe Systems
Initial release: 1984
OTB (Over-the-Air Bitmap) is a monochrome image format developed by Nokia as part of their Smart Messaging specification in 1997, designed for transmitting small graphics — operator logos, group graphics, and picture messages — to Nokia mobile phones via SMS. OTB files contain 1-bit (black and white) images at small fixed resolutions, typically 72x14 pixels for operator logos and 72x28 pixels for group graphics, encoded in a compact binary format suitable for embedding within the payload of SMS text messages. The format uses a simple structure: a header byte indicating whether the image is an operator logo or group graphic, width and height values, and the raw bitmap data where each bit represents one pixel packed eight per byte. The extremely tight format — designed to fit within a single SMS message (140 bytes maximum payload, shared with addressing overhead) — reflects the severe constraints of mobile communication in the late 1990s. Nokia's Smart Messaging system was one of the first commercial implementations of rich content delivery to mobile phones, and OTB images represented the entire visual content capability of Nokia handsets before MMS and mobile data browsing arrived. One advantage is the format's historical role as a pioneer of mobile visual messaging: OTB images were among the first graphics that ordinary consumers could send to each other's phones, predating MMS, camera phones, and smartphones by nearly a decade. The format's minimal footprint is another characteristic — entire images fit in a few dozen bytes, reflecting an era of extreme bandwidth constraints. OTB files are supported by ImageMagick, various Nokia phone management tools, and specialty mobile format utilities.
Developer: Nokia
Initial release: 1997

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert PFB to OTB?

OTB bitmaps are designed for constrained-display environments — converting PFB glyphs to OTB produces images suited for embedded systems and small screens.

How to open OTB?

OTB files are recognized by ImageMagick and certain embedded display systems. GIMP can also open them through the ImageMagick bridge.

Is OTB the same as OTF?

No — OTB is a bitmap image format (On-The-Air Bitmap), while OTF is OpenType Font. They are completely different file types despite similar abbreviations.

Does PFB to OTB conversion work on mobile?

Yes — the converter runs in any modern browser, including mobile devices. No app installation required, just open the page and upload.

Can I process several fonts at once?

Yes — Convertio supports batch uploads for converting multiple PFB fonts to OTB images simultaneously.