What best practices should be followed when handling font files in PHP for image manipulation?

When handling font files in PHP for image manipulation, it is important to ensure that the font files are properly loaded and used in the image generation process. This includes verifying the font file exists, loading it correctly, and applying it to the generated image.

// Check if the font file exists
$fontFile = 'path/to/font.ttf';
if (!file_exists($fontFile)) {
    die('Font file not found.');
}

// Load the font file
$font = imageloadfont($fontFile);

// Apply the font to the image
imagettftext($image, $fontSize, 0, $x, $y, $color, $fontFile, $text);