# IBM Plex Serif font > The serif member of IBM's Plex family, with flat slab-like serifs, in seven weights with italics. IBM Plex Serif is the serif design in IBM's Plex typeface family, created by Mike Abbink at IBM with the foundry Bold Monday. IBM Plex Serif has seven weights from Thin 100 to Bold 700, each with an italic, as 14 static fonts. It is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits editorial text and reports. ## Facts - Classification: [Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/serif) - Designed by: Mike Abbink, Bold Monday - License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/) - Styles: 14 (Thin 100, ExtraLight 200, Light 300, Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600, Bold 700; with italics) - Variable font: No - Glyphs: 832 - Character sets: cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, latin, latin-ext, vietnamese - Last updated: 2025-09-16 - Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/IBM+Plex+Serif - Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/ibm-plex-serif - Tagged for: Body text, Branding, Editorial ## About IBM Plex Serif IBM Plex Serif is a serif typeface built as the reading companion to IBM's Plex Sans and Plex Mono. Its serifs are flat and rectangular, joined to the stems with little curve, and the difference between thick and thin strokes stays moderate, so the letters keep the engineered look of the rest of the family. The official notes recommend the Serif for editorial work and call the italics unusually expressive. Seven weights run from Thin 100 to Bold 700, each with an italic, and the package contains them as 14 static TrueType files; it is not a variable font. Each font holds 832 glyphs covering Latin, Latin Extended, Cyrillic and Vietnamese. IBM's Brand & Experience team develops Plex as an open-source project. The font's credits name Mike Abbink, Paul van der Laan and Pieter van Rosmalen, with Bold Monday as manufacturer. ## License SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright © 2017 IBM Corp. with Reserved Font Name "Plex" Allowed: - Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps. - Modify the fonts and build new versions from them. - Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them. Conditions: - The fonts cannot be sold by themselves. - A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission. - The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission. Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/ ## Where it works - **Long-form articles**: Moderate contrast and sturdy slab-like serifs hold up in paragraphs on screens as well as in print. - **Reports and white papers**: Regular, Medium and SemiBold with their italics give body text, emphasis and subheads from one set of files. - **Large headlines in light weights**: Thin 100 and ExtraLight 200 turn the rectangular serifs into fine lines that only show at big sizes. - **Editorial layouts next to Plex Sans**: The Serif carries the story while Plex Sans handles captions and navigation; the two were designed to work together. - **Russian and Vietnamese editions**: Cyrillic and Vietnamese character sets are built in, so translated editions keep the same typeface. ## Things to know - **Static files, no variable version here**: The package holds 14 separate files, one per weight and style. There is no weight axis. - **Greek is missing**: Unlike Plex Sans, the Serif covers Latin, Cyrillic and Vietnamese only. - **The name Plex is reserved**: The license notice reserves the font name “Plex”; a modified version needs a different name. ## FAQs ### Is IBM Plex Serif free for commercial use? Yes, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. IBM Plex Serif may be used in personal and commercial projects, modified and redistributed; it cannot be sold on its own, and a modified version keeps the same license. A modified version may not use the Reserved Font Name “Plex” without permission. ### Who designed IBM Plex Serif? IBM Plex Serif comes from the Plex project led by Mike Abbink at IBM, made with the foundry Bold Monday. The font's credits also name Paul van der Laan and Pieter van Rosmalen. ### How many weights does IBM Plex Serif have? IBM Plex Serif has seven weights, Thin, ExtraLight, Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold and Bold, each with an italic. ### Is IBM Plex Serif a variable font? No. IBM Plex Serif is not a variable font; it is distributed as 14 static files. ### Which languages does IBM Plex Serif support? IBM Plex Serif includes the letters needed for English and other Latin-script languages such as French, Czech, Turkish and Vietnamese, as well as Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian. Greek is not included. ### What fonts pair well with IBM Plex Serif? IBM Plex Serif was drawn to sit beside IBM Plex Sans and IBM Plex Mono, which share its proportions and weights. --- Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/ibm-plex-serif (trendhub)