Copresco continues to receive a wide range of questions and comments from our Overnight Lite readers. We welcome your responses and will regularly publish items of general interest in future issues.
Q. I followed with interest your
series about PDF font embedding. I hadn’t realized that some fonts
weren’t being embedded in my files. By following your instructions (see
last August, September, October, and January Lites) I
now know I’m including all typefaces in my PDF files for print. All,
that is, except one font, which won’t embed no matter what I do. Can
you explain this?
A. Some fonts
are actually prohibited by their creators from embedding in a PDF. You
aren’t doing anything incorrect; the font has been deliberately
constructed to prevent PDF embedding.
The
short-term workaround: send the font file along with the PDF. This is
only a stopgap, though. Many advanced print applications require font
embedding, so getting your file to print properly may require extra
effort by Copresco even if you do send us the problem font.
The long-term solution: Use fonts that will embed!
You may wish to contact the foundry (the font creator from whom you
purchased the font) about an updated replacement copy of the font that
is licensed to permit PDF embedding.
You may not have purchased these problem fonts
individually. For example, Corel software such as Draw and WordPerfect
used to install vast numbers of non-embeddable fonts on its host
computer. Even if WordPerfect was later uninstalled the fonts remain,
usable (but not embeddable) by any program. Corel does offer replacement embeddable versions free of
charge.
Another example was Apple, whose Macintosh system
fonts circa OS8 were also unembeddable.
When
Acrobat was new, some founders were concerned that fonts might be
extracted from PDFs, so they restricted embedding. The PDF format has
become so common that most type foundries have realized that a font
that won’t embed has very little value.
If a font manufacturer is still deliberately
restricting PDF embedding make a mental note to stop doing business
with them! The problems their unembeddable type will cause for you in
this PDF-connected 21st century are simply not worth the headaches.
The
Pantone Matching System (PMS) is the universally recognized standard
for specifying and communicating color values in the graphic arts
world. Pantone formulas allow everyone involved to understand exactly
what color is required simply by specifying a number, such as PMS 300
blue. After all, Pantone colors never change…or do they?
Did you know that Pantone tweaked many of their color
formulas slightly in 2000? This could be a problem on some
color-critical projects. Here’s a few suggestions for color
housekeeping.
First,
replace any pre-2000 Pantone formula guides you have lying around. In
fact, any guide more than a few years old should be discarded and
replaced. The effects of exposure to light and chemicals on an aging
book create more color problems than the millennial reformulation did.
Second, remember that all Pantone formulas aren’t in
books. Software uses Pantone-licensed tables to create colors. If you
are still using Adobe Illustrator 8 or Quark 4, for example, your
computer is using the old color formulas to create PMS colors.
There is nothing wrong with these older software
versions per se, but remember that you aren’t fully managing your color
if you don’t account for the reformulation factor at each stage of your
workflow.
When you need color digital printing, call the
company that understands color. Call Copresco.
Overnight Lite Main Last Month Next Month This Month's
On-Line Jokes
Home Contact Us What's New Publications
Copyright © 2005 by Copresco All rights reserved.