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Discontinuation of Adobe Pro Type 1 fonts in InDesign

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
September 9, 2022
6 replies
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I am a book designer working on a 200-page project set in Adobe Caslon Pro with titles and pull-quotes set in Atsuka Montreal. Apparently these are Type 1 fonts which Adobe plans to stop supporting in January. This is catastrophic to my project as each line is individually kerned. Does Adobe understand how devastating this will be to book designers who have large projects in progress?

My first question to the forum is: WHY is Adobe no longer supporting an ADOBE PRO font?
My second question is: Will they replace these fonts with identical open source fonts?

My third question is: If Adobe does NOT replace these fonts, how do I find identical fonts to take their place?

My contact info is: (PII removed by moderator)

Thank you,

Tom Joyce

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Adobe Caslon Pro has always been OpenType. (The clue is the word "Pro" as OpenType made it possible to add many more glyphs than was possible in old Type 1 format). Yes, it is a Postcript-flavoured OpenType so it will still list as "OpenType Type 1" in your InDesign document, as Postscript outlines ARE Type 1. This is normal. Your document is fine.

The confusion comes here: what is ending is support for the old Type 1 font file format, which on Mac meant having separate Screen font suitcases and Outline font files, and on PC, seperate .pfm and .pfb files. This was confusing and not cross-platform, and only had room for a limited glyph set, so OpenType has combined them into a single file, with the ability to have many more glyphs.

As far as the other font you mention, it may be a matter of finding an updated OTF or TrueType version. You could also contact the font vendor you bought it from, but based on a search, it's a cheap font so buying it again is not going to cost you more than a couple of beers. OR, you can invest in a font conversion program (e.g. TransType) but that would cost you many times more than simply buying that font again.

W

withwords

Participating Frequently

First Pantone colors. Now fonts. Will letters and numbers be ransomed next?

rob day

Community Expert

The missing Pantone libraries are easily fixed—they are no longer automatically installed, but you can install them yourself. You can get them from an older version’s application folder and move them into the new version’s Swatch Libraries folder located here:

Applications⁩ ▸ ⁨Adobe InDesign 20XX⁩ ▸ ⁨Presets⁩ ▸ ⁨Swatch Libraries⁩

or download the .acb files from here:

https://github.com/Autocrit/Pantone-color-libraries

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

As everybody else has said the fonts that you are using are Open Type Fonts. I am wondering why you thought that the fonts were Postscript Type 1. The warnings that have been popping up for the last couple of years as to the discontinuation of the old fonts can actually pop up if perhaps there was at some time a Type 1 font used in the document which may have left either a blank space or unused paragraph return that is still reading as the old font. You can check this by going into Find/Replace Font under the Font menu and see if there is a listing for any fonts other than the ones you actually want in the file. If there are then globally change those to the Open type versions.

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

"I am wondering why you thought that the fonts were Postscript Type 1."

I think it's because InDesign lists them as OpenType Type 1 in the Font Lists. The fact it even mentions Type 1 is throwing people off into an unnecessary panic. I wish Adobe had been clearer about this, but here we are.

Derek Cross

Community Expert

I recently asked MyFonts.com to clarify the nomenclature of OpenType fonts, and this was their useful reply, which I thought Forum members would be interested in seeing:

There are TWO types of OpenType:

A. TrueType-flavoured OpenTypes (ending with .ttf)

B. PostScript-flavoured OpenTypes (ending with .otf)

Both OpenType versions work on Mac as well as on PC, and both OpenType versions work flawlessly with OpenType-savvy applications.

The differences become obvious when using old applications: old Windows applications which can only handle TrueType are able to work with TrueType-flavoured OpenTypes, since they can access the first 255 characters, which are the basic ones.

The PostScript-flavoured OpenTypes work vice versa - they are recognized by old Mac applications which can only handle PostScript. Since Mac software does not take into consideration the ending of the file, it was possible to give the PostScript-flavoured OpenTypes a new ending (.otf). But Windows applications identify a software by its ending, therefore TrueType-flavoured OpenTypes need to have the same ending as TrueTypes.

However, when you open the file by clicking on it, you will definitely see that it is OpenType, and your operating system will also identify it as such.

– MyFonts

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Correct answer

Community Expert

Adobe Caslon Pro has always been OpenType. (The clue is the word "Pro" as OpenType made it possible to add many more glyphs than was possible in old Type 1 format). Yes, it is a Postcript-flavoured OpenType so it will still list as "OpenType Type 1" in your InDesign document, as Postscript outlines ARE Type 1. This is normal. Your document is fine.

The confusion comes here: what is ending is support for the old Type 1 font file format, which on Mac meant having separate Screen font suitcases and Outline font files, and on PC, seperate .pfm and .pfb files. This was confusing and not cross-platform, and only had room for a limited glyph set, so OpenType has combined them into a single file, with the ability to have many more glyphs.

As far as the other font you mention, it may be a matter of finding an updated OTF or TrueType version. You could also contact the font vendor you bought it from, but based on a search, it's a cheap font so buying it again is not going to cost you more than a couple of beers. OR, you can invest in a font conversion program (e.g. TransType) but that would cost you many times more than simply buying that font again.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi Brad and Rob,

looked up an old Adobe Font Folio from 2004, I think.

Adobe Caslon Pro is there as an OpenType font.

There is no Type 1 font listed for Adobe Caslon. And there never was perhaps.

( Sorry, I did not realize this. )

All in all Tom Joyce should be good to go with his Adobe Caslon Pro font files installed.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

Adobe Caslon (and its extension Adobe Caslon Expert) did indeed exist in Type 1 (I have it in my archives), just not as the Pro version, which was OTF since 2000.

rob day

Community Expert

Apparently these are Type 1 fonts which Adobe plans to stop supporting in January.

Hi @Tom2604280896iw , AdobeCaslonPro is not a Type 1 font—the FontAgent font manager app lists it as OpenType with Postscript outline, not Type 1. All of the OpenType fonts in my library are listed this way:

The InDesign default font MinionPro is the same:

FontAgent lists Type 1 fonts as Type 1. EurekaSans is an example of a Type 1 font that future versions of InDesign will no longer support.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi @Tom2604280896iw ,

if your current version of InDesign still supports the Type 1 version of Adobe Caslon Pro and you want to bundle your document with that exact same version, assumed InDesign 2022, do not use a newer version of InDesign with that project. E.g. InDesign 2023. Stick with InDesign 2022 and you should good to go.

I cannot answer the other questions. I'm just a user like you.

I'm not an Adobe employee who can speak on behalf of Adobe.

NOTE: The OTF version of Adobe Caslon Pro was part of Adobe Font Folio and this OTF version was provided by Adobe for the last 18 to 20 years now. Unfortunately Adobe recently discontinued Adobe Font Folio.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

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