Albertan Roman was designed and cut in metal at the 16 pt. size by Jim Rimmer in 1982 as a proprietary type for use in his private press and foundry, Pie Tree Press & Type Foundry. Only the Roman was cut for casting at the foundry. Its use was to be for the hand-setting and printing of limited edition books. However at the same time, the Mac was taking hold very strongly, and it seemed like a sound idea to render the type in digital format.

Albertan Italic was drawn in 1985 to accompany the Roman. It has been designed to a narrow set width and has a very slight incline. The capitals have been taken from the Roman face, and have been condensed about 10 percent to blend with the lower case forms. The face has a full set of ligatures, and in addition a font of Italic Small Capitals has been designed.

Albertan Light is a complete family of types, comprising a Roman, Italic, Small Caps, Italic Small Caps and both lining and hanging (Old Style) figures. The regular weight Albertan is of a substantial color, and it was felt that a more slender version would be a good addition to the family. This weight will print well down to five point, and will print in reverse to about nine or ten point. In the occasional place where letterpress or foil stamping is called for, the lightface works beautifully. This type is well suited for book, magazine corporate print and advertising.

Albertan Light Italic and its companion Italic Small Caps have been produced for a situation where the text requires a delicate handling. This design follows exactly that of the regular weight Italic, but is just very slightly more open in its general appearance to add a bit more air throughout a line of type.

Albertan Bold has been newly redrawn in 2005. The original Albertan Bold is now rechristened Albertan Black.