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Opening an INDD 6 file with Type1 fonts

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
July 18, 2024
4 replies
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I work for a publisher and we have many backlist titles that use Type 1 fonts. I have an old mac that still runs INDD 6. This allows me to open thefile and still use the Type 1 fonts. Opening it on a newer machine with the current INDD will mean having to completely reformat the book - not an option. I fear my legacy mac may be about to give up it's ghost. Is there another workaround? These files were frequently saved without a PDF for which I curse the creators.

Thank you for your tiime.

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Correct answer rob day

Hi @jimw79795516 , As @Frans v.d. Geest suggests there are a number of OTF converters out there. I use FontLab’s TransType which keeps the font metrics and version number, so the text doesn’t reflow and you don’t need to replace any fonts. See my post in this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/ende-der-unterst%C3%BCtzung-f%C3%BCr-ps-type-1-fonts/td-p/11874314

rob day

Correct answer

Community Expert

Hi @jimw79795516 , As @Frans v.d. Geest suggests there are a number of OTF converters out there. I use FontLab’s TransType which keeps the font metrics and version number, so the text doesn’t reflow and you don’t need to replace any fonts. See my post in this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/ende-der-unterst%C3%BCtzung-f%C3%BCr-ps-type-1-fonts/td-p/11874314

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

@rob day

Very good solution.

But if OP will be opening old files in a new InDesign - I think text can still "shift"?

BobLevine

Community Expert

It could shift even if the fonts weren't replaced. When opening old files that require editing in new versions it's usually a good idea to recompose all stories right at the start.

Frans v.d. Geest

Community Expert

You could convert the fonts, but be aware of copyright limitations of course(!)

https://www.fontlab.com/font-converter/transtype/

http://fontgear.net/fontxchange.html

James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

It is possible, but not simple, to build a "new" CS6 workstation. The Mac folks here can list the requirements, but neither the OS nor the app is supported any longer, and need workarounds to keep working in today's environment.

It is also possible to do nearly perfect 1:1 mapping between most Type 1 fonts and their newer formats. Again, not a simple process, but if you've used standard fonts from major foundries/sources, you can both replace the older fonts with new ones, and convert your T1 fonts to the newer formats. A good font manager will handle the latter. Doing that and moving forward to a platform newer than 15 years old is probably the wiser investment, although each book will have issues to be dealt with. With any luck, the process will be cumulative and with some number of books updated, each one will get quicker and easier.

And — have to say it — it's maybe not the best commercial workflow to remain on a literally 15 year old platform, regardless of which element you're talking about here (system, OS, InDesign, font model). The sunset of T1 fonts alone was widely and persistently (==annoyingly) announced for five years.

That's not meant to be a lecture or an argument; it's just that the pile of work you're facing could have been spread out over considerable time, and any cost or hassle or effort in having to do it now, more or less all at once and under the gun... could have been avoided.

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

You can / should find OTF equivalents - but text will shift...

So you should export your old INDD files to PDFs ASAP.

Or... If you can share your files - the process can be automated...

I'm on a PC so it would probably mean that there will be some shifting anyway - but I have both CS6 and CC2024 installed.

James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

A crash program to get PDF masters of each book would be my priority here. All in all, a relatively unskilled worker with some specific training (i.e., a temp or suchlike) could crank out 5, 6 or more an hour.

N

Nick Passmore

Participating Frequently

I think how best to deal with this depends on a number of things:

Is "many" backlist titles a dozen, a hundred or several thousand?

Is there likely to be a need to republish more than a small fraction of them and if so how many and over what period?

How many different fonts are in use?

Are the fonts stored with the InDesign files?

If the requirement is just to archive an electronic version of each title and their number is in the tens or low hundreds then, as James suggests, having someone work through them and make PDFs with the old fonts would be wise. I would make an IDML file of each at the same time.

If there are many more titles than this though and/or there is a high rate of republication then, as Robert says, at the least you will need a process to either acquire OTF versions of the fonts as the need arises or to bite the bullet and get them now. It might also be worth looking to automate the work — a script could work through a list or directory of InDesign files making the PDFs and recording fonts used, it could also do the substitution of new fonts for old though as I recall that's a bit less trivial . . .

If you give us a bit more information about the numbers involved we may have more suggestions.

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