Ensuring your PDFs accurately represent your intended design when printed hinges on properly embedding Print Fonts. Problems with font embedding can lead to unexpected font substitutions, resulting in documents that look different from what you designed. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to troubleshoot and configure your Adobe PDF printer settings to guarantee your print fonts are correctly embedded, leading to consistent and professional printed outputs.
First, examine your Distiller Font Locations settings. Within this dialogue, you should find an option labeled “Ignore TrueType versions of standard postscript fonts.” Make sure this box is checked. This setting is crucial for prioritizing PostScript fonts when available, which are often preferred in professional printing workflows. Additionally, change the “When embedding fails:” option to “Cancel Job.” This proactive setting will immediately alert you if there’s an issue with font embedding during PDF creation, preventing unnoticed font substitutions and potential print errors.
Next, verify the type of fonts you are using. Are you utilizing PostScript fonts like TimesNewRomanPS -MT and Arial -MT, or are you working with TrueType versions of these fonts? If you are indeed using TrueType fonts, it’s essential to configure your Adobe PDF printer instance to ensure these fonts are sent to the printer, rather than being substituted with default fonts.
To configure these settings, navigate to your operating system’s “Printers & Faxes” control panel (or “Devices and Printers” in newer Windows versions). Right-click on your “Adobe PDF” printer and select “Properties.”
In the printer properties window, go to the “General” tab and click on “Printing Preferences.” Within the Printing Preferences window, select the “Layout” tab and then click on the “Advanced” button to access advanced settings.
Within the Advanced Options dialogue box, adjust the following settings to optimize for print fonts:
- Graphic > Print Quality: Set this to “600dpi”. This higher resolution ensures sharper text and graphics, critical for professional print quality.
- Graphic > TrueType Font: Change this setting to “Download as Softfont.” This instructs the printer driver to download TrueType fonts as soft fonts, ensuring they are embedded in the PDF.
- Document Options > Postscript Options > TrueType Font Download Option: Set this to “Native TrueType.” This option specifies that TrueType fonts should be downloaded in their native TrueType format, which can improve compatibility and rendering accuracy.
Click “OK” to close the Advanced Options dialogue, and then “OK” again to close the Printing Preferences window.
Now, proceed to the “Advanced” tab within the Printer Properties window and click on the “Printing Defaults…” button. This will open the same Advanced Options dialogue you just configured. It is vital to verify that all the settings you previously adjusted are also set identically in the Printing Defaults. This ensures consistent font handling across different applications and print jobs.
Click “OK” to close the Printing Defaults window, and then “OK” again to close the Defaults dialogue.
Finally, navigate to the “Device Settings” tab within the Printer Properties. Configure the following parameters for optimal print font handling:
- Output Protocol: Set this to “Binary.” Binary protocol is generally more efficient for PostScript printing.
- Convert Gray text to Postscript Gray: Set this to “Yes.” This ensures that gray text is properly rendered in PostScript.
- Convert Gray Graphics to Postscript Gray: Set this to “Yes.” Similar to gray text, this ensures gray graphics are correctly processed.
- Add Euro Currency…. : Set this to “No” unless your documents specifically require the Euro currency symbol.
Now, expand the “Font Substitution Table” by clicking on the “+” symbol next to it. For every font listed in this table, set the option to “Don’t Substitute.” This critical step prevents the Adobe PDF printer from substituting any fonts during PDF creation, ensuring your chosen print fonts are always used.
Click “OK” to finalize all the settings and close the Printer Properties window.
After making these configurations, create a new PDF output. Once the PDF is generated, open it in Adobe Acrobat or Reader and go to “File > Document Properties > Fonts.” Review the list of fonts to confirm that all fonts are listed as “Embedded.” This verification step is crucial to guarantee that your print fonts will be accurately reproduced when the PDF is printed.
By meticulously following these steps, you can effectively troubleshoot and configure your Adobe PDF printer settings to ensure accurate embedding of print fonts, resulting in PDFs that reliably maintain your design intent from screen to print.
