The love of typography for type's sake has never been greater. Far from being a kind of nostalgia for an art form that's rapidly on its way out, this is a celebration of typography and type artists overcoming adversity – many claim opportunities to publish in print are declining - and going on to find new ways of adding flair to text, adding words to art and generally saying "no" to Times Roman. Even the most cursory look around the web will reveal a cornucopia of typography-related sites, and while some are specifically related to the web, most honour the font in every form: printed on t-shirts, photographed in the street or made into jewellery. One of the most well-known (and most explicitly named) is I Love Typography. With articles on new fonts, type history and technical information, the site has been running since 2007 and is still going strong with 43,000 fans subscribed to the site. In this case the love of type is quite literal, with creator Johno stating on his web bio: "although, like many men, I sometimes look at girls' bottoms, I probably spend more time looking at type."

The range of sites around also ventures into niche territory. The Ampersand blog is a project from designer Stephen Gose, simply dedicated to his favourite character, the ampersand.

This love of type is showing its face offline too. Earlier this year (in February and again in June), type artists from around the globe pooled their talents for Go Font Ur Self* a collaborative exhibition visiting Melbourne and Sydney. Organiser Marty Routledge started the event in response to the growing typography scene in Australia, for those that want to look beyond the purely practical uses for type and push the boundaries of the alphabet.

One artist to feature his work in the second round of Go Font Ur Self* exhibitions was New York-based Mike Perry. A brief look at his bio reveals a working interest in a multitude of genres and media, but dig a little deeper and it's clear that a common thread runs through most of his offerings: type. As an artist and illustrator he has managed to incorporate typography into his work for the New York Times, Saatchi & Saatchi and Dwell Magazine. But it is his hand drawn type that has probably attracted the most attention. Playful, colourful and entirely analogue, it's a breath of fresh air for those that begrudge the world of digital fonts. "I am not too familiar with what people are doing in the world of online publishing," he readily admits.

"I would guess that not really having any printing limitations would both create some beautiful innovations but also some super ugly lazy type."

And he's not the only one. In 2007 he released his first book, Hand Job, a compilation of work from 55 artists who, like Perry, hand draw all of their type.

It's not, however, as simple as a debate over hand created type versus the online word. According to Timba Smits, a Melbourne-based art director, graphic designer, and the brains behind The Fad Experiment and Gorker Gallery, the shift to web has had something of a positive influence on things.

As an artist he is happiest crouched over a desk with a pencil and eraser hand-drawing type, but as the publisher of Wooden Toy Quarterly he does see the usefulness in ready-made fonts. "Running a publishing company means I use lots of them, but I am very picky and choosy" I tend to use ones that can be taken apart and manipulated quite easily. I also use fonts that are old fashioned in style and look like work has gone into them." And it does equate to a lot of work. For these artists there are countless hours spent drawing, rendering and fiddling around without layout, while others chose simply download an entire font off the web. Painstaking though it may be, Smits agrees the results are worth the effort. "Well, typography is an art. It's a very difficult art. It's a very time consuming art, but one that is terribly rewarding to anyone that practices it and likewise for anyone who appreciates it."

"Typography has become more popular than ever before and you've got to thank 'Mr Dotcom' for that."

So what do our two featured typographers feel about the supposedly immanent death of print? "I have no idea where things will go," reveals Mike Perry.

"But I think we are okay for a while. Printed matter has a life it will just be different then it has been in the past."

The very thought of it prompted a more passionate reply from Timba Smits: "Shit no! Don't say thaaaaaaat! Ten baby Jesuses just died! Already becoming visible is a much more pure marketplace for magazines and books that are pushing the envelope in their production and design. These types will stick around forever because at the end of the day, nothing beats a well thought out, inspirational and satisfying publication and the positive feelings they can evoke."