Home RetroSupply Blog 18 of the Best Retro Text Effects for Illustrator and Photoshop

18 of the Best Retro Text Effects for Illustrator and Photoshop

18 of the Best Retro Text Effects for Illustrator and Photoshop

If you’re looking to quickly add a distressed or old-school vibe to your lettering work, there are hundreds of quality retro text effects you can apply to your designs.

Whether you need ink textures, grunge effects, 3D type, a letterpress look, or more, we’ve rounded up 18 of the very best into one handy resource for you to refer back to whenever you need brilliant retro effects for your type.

To help you navigate through the different options here, we’ve divided them into the following categories:

  • Retro text effect Photoshop Smart PSDs
  • Retro text effect Illustrator graphic styles
  • Retro text effect actions
  • Retro and vintage text effect extures

As always, we’ll be adding to this list regularly, so if we’ve missed your favorite let us know in the comments below. Read on for our selection of the best retro text effects for Illustrator and Photoshop…

RETRO PHOTOSHOP SMART PSDS

Smart PSDs or templates use smart objects to let you work non-destructively in Photoshop, giving you a quick and easy way to add retro text effects to your illustrations.

Photoshop actions are a quick way to apply effects to your layers in Photoshop.

All you have to do is paste your work onto a layer and the effects are added like magic. If you edit the source file, your changes will automatically be made across the entire PSD.

RISOGRAPH PRINT PACK

RetroSupply Co.

RetroSupply's Risograph Print Pack is a collection of seamless patterns, templates, textures, and a Photoshop action that make adding Risograph textures to your typography as easy as the click of a button.

The Risograph Print Pack not only allows you to instantly recreate the aesthetic of a Risograph printer, but you'll also be able to quickly change the pattern scale, ink colors, paper color, and ink density– all in the comfort of non-destructive processes.

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80s retro typography effect

graphic burger

This free chrome text effect lets you create an 80s-inspired piece of typographic work or logo. As with all the retro text effects here, just edit the smart layer and your lettering will instantly take on an iconic 80s feel!

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SUPERGRAIN

RetroSupply Co.

Add unique rich and worn textures to your designs! Inspired by 70s t-shirts and classic album covers, SuperGrain is a Smart PSD template that allows you to just place your design in a folder and save to get unique, textured text effects.

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analog ink foundry

RetroSupply Co.

Add authentic ink roller textures to your text with this pack of Smart PSDs, brushes, and textures.

Just add your text into the Smart PSD and you can customize the settings to make your typography look like it was it was inked up in real life!

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RETRO ILLUSTRATOR GRAPHIC STYLES

Illustrator’s version of Photoshop’s layer styles are graphic styles. Again, they’re effects that can be applied non-destructively to objects, groups and layers with just a click – which is particularly handy when it comes to last-minute client changes.

poptype

RetroSupply Co.

Create retro 3D lettering in one click with the 48 Pop Type graphic styles in this pack. You’ll also get access to the PopType tutorial vault – which includes five easy-to-follow videos that show you how to get more from PopType – plus eight 1950s comic book-style Photoshop texture brushes, a halftone and grunge overlay, and six pieces of 1940s FizzleStock clip art.

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under-inked print styles

artifex forge

Under-Inked is a collection of Adobe Illustrator graphic styles that will transform your text and other objects into grungy, inky print with just one click. Even better, all the textures used to create these retro graphic styles were created from real printed ink source material.

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vintage allsorts graphic styles

designdell

Quickly create 3D vintage signage text effects with this pack of 50 graphic styles. Created by DesignDell, you’ll need Illustrator CS3 or above, and the bundle also comes with three tillable vector grunge textures.

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RETRO TEXT EFFECT ACTIONS FOR PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR

Another super-fast way to apply retro text effects to your designs is with Photoshop and Illustrator actions – sequences of tasks that you can apply with the click of a button. They’re particularly useful when it comes to repeating the same complex effects multiple times, but they’re big time-savers even when used just once.

the mid-century print pack

RetroSupply Co.

The Mid-Century Print Pack is a collection of retro actions, brushes, and textures that help you create authentic mid-century print effects in Photoshop.

Recreate retro print text effects you see on vintage ephemera like ink bleed, edge starve, registration errors, roughening, halftones, and more.

Plus, this pack comes with a master class of video tutorials, bonus retro vector art, and more. All in one pack!

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soda shopped

forefathers group

Get 1950’s retro soda shop and drugstore-inspired effects, wear and tear, as well as photo treatments to your text within seconds with this Photoshop Action Set.

The set includes 6 actions, 7 halftone patterns, 7 texture files, 2 ink bleed actions, 1 halftone color action, and a detailed PDF walkthrough guide.

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RISOGRAPH PRINT PACK

RetroSupply Co.

RetroSupply's Risograph Print Pack is a collection of seamless patterns, templates, textures, and a Photoshop action that make adding Risograph textures to your typography as easy as the click of a button.

The Risograph Print Pack not only allows you to instantly recreate the aesthetic of a Risograph printer, but you'll also be able to quickly change the pattern scale, ink colors, paper color, and ink density– all in the comfort of non-destructive processes.

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VECTORPRESS ILLUSTRATOR LETTERPRESS

IAN BARNARD

VectorPress uses a unique hybrid of Adobe Illustrator graphic styles and actions that quickly add handmade letterpress texture effects to your work in seconds. Plus, it comes with a visual quick start guide to get you up and running and making awesome type texture effects in no time!

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RETRO AND VINTAGE TEXTURES FOR PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR

One of the most effective ways to create retro text effects, of course, is with textures. Quickly rough up your illustrations by applying these Photoshop and Illustrator textures for a warm, authentic and aged aesthetic.

PHANTOM PAPER

RETROSUPPLY CO.

Phantom Paper is a diverse library of 21 high-definition, truly seamless paper textures that work like magic. Easily make your work look like it's printed, painted, or drawn on real paper.

Each paper texture has its own unique qualities, making it flexible whether you need to add a touch of analog goodness or rich depth and texture. Our two-layer system gives you fine-grain control over the intensity and shadow of the paper.

Plus, you can easily resize textures to any size, adjust blending modes, and convert to greyscale for your own unique look and feel.

Available for both Photoshop and Illustrator.

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WASHED & WORN T-SHIRT EFFECT TEXTURES

SPOON GRAPHICS

These 9 digital textures help you to transform your clean artwork into retro-style graphics with realistic distressing where the ink has flaked away from being washed and worn over many years.

They can even be used to create realistic aged effects in your apparel design projects, where ‘Direct to Garment’ printing can replicate that same vintage aesthetic as your favorite old t-shirt, but with the texturing digitally applied straight to the artwork.

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DIET VECTOR TEXTURES

RETROSUPPLY CO.

Diet Vector Textures includes 100 high-resolution TIFF files that you can easily drop into Adobe Illustrator and change the color with the click of a button. These files are super-lightweight, guaranteed not to crash Illustrator, and look great in your work. Perfect for adding some grunge to your text in Illustrator.

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