Skip to main content
malinar41535830
malinar41535830
Participant
October 13, 2017
Answered

font is being reduced when printing to pdf

  • October 13, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 1792 views

I am finding that every document I print to PDF or export to Adobe PDF is being reduced from 11pt font to 10.8. This is not acceptable since the guidelines for our submissions clearly state the font has to be 11pt. I found another thread where this was brought up (in 2015) where the official Adobe position was "Eh, close enough." What is the actual fix for this? Going back through each individual PDF and editing the text doesn't work all of the time.

And FYI the agency in question is aware of the problem and they said:

"Font size:  Must be 11 points or larger. Smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams and charts is acceptable, as long as it is legible when the page is viewed at 100%.

  • Some PDF conversion software reduces font size. It is important to confirm that the final PDF document complies with the font requirements." (My emphasis)

Mac OS 10.12.6

Word 15.38 for Mac

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Architecture: x86_64

Build: 15.6.30352.237999

AGM: 4.30.71

CoolType: 5.14.5

JP2K: 1.2.2.38798

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Dov Isaacs

Unfortunately, this is nothing that Adobe can control or “fix.” Microsoft Office works on a 96 units/inch coordinate system and their round-off errors on output, including all printed output, yields this problem. By the time either Acrobat or even MacOS or Windows print drivers gets the text information, this “rounding mistake” point size is already baked in. The same thing happens if you use Microsoft's own save as PDF.

          - Dov

PS:     Adobe has absolutely never had an official position that this rounded point size was “eh, close enough.”

1 reply

Dov Isaacs
Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
Legend
October 13, 2017

Unfortunately, this is nothing that Adobe can control or “fix.” Microsoft Office works on a 96 units/inch coordinate system and their round-off errors on output, including all printed output, yields this problem. By the time either Acrobat or even MacOS or Windows print drivers gets the text information, this “rounding mistake” point size is already baked in. The same thing happens if you use Microsoft's own save as PDF.

          - Dov

PS:     Adobe has absolutely never had an official position that this rounded point size was “eh, close enough.”

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices