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A
Anonymous
December 12, 2014
Answered

Preview and Print restrictions in PDF

  • December 12, 2014
  • 1 reply
  • 2342 views

Hi there,

I bought the Adobe Type Basics pack, and I would like to use one of the fonts that has the Preview and Print license.

The Preview and Print license states that "Preview & Print allows the font, either fully or as a subset, to be embedded in an electronic document solely for the purpose of viewing that document on screen and/or printing that document. While a font with a Preview & Print embedding permission (either through data in the font file or the font’s license agreement) may be embedded in an electronic document, the embedded font may not be used to further edit the document it is contained in or to edit or create other documents."

If I use this font in a PDF file meant to be sold/distributed, am I violating any of these terms? As far as I know, you can't create an "editable PDF." PDFs are, to my understanding, relatively static--so I do not understand why there is such specific wording about the prohibition of "further edits."

I am using MAC Pages, so I could use the additional password protection option (under the "Save as PDF" not "Export as PDF" section)  to prevent people from "copying text, images, and other content." I presume "other content" covers fonts, but I'm not sure. And I don't know if the password encryption will prevent "editing." Technically doing so would be encrypting the PDF, I believe. However, this would not be bulletproof protection. And I do not know if that will prevent font extraction.

I would appreciate some help. From what I understand, all these points seem more relevant for PSD, AI, EPS and other workflow-type files.

Cheers

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

Thanks for posing this question.

Although fonts have embedding restrictions baked into the font such as preview and print, the real restrictions are to be found in a font's EULA (End User License Agreement) which may have other restrictions including payment of royalties on copies of PDF files or any other asset in which the fonts are embedded.

In the case of any and all fonts sourced from Adobe, not only do you have at least preview and print embedding privileges, but there are no restrictions or royalties required for distribution of files (i.e., PDF, EPS, eBooks, etc.) in which the Adobe fonts are embedded.

In other words, you are “good to go” with Adobe fonts. On the other hand, make no assumption about fonts sourced from other font foundries. Many do not provide such liberal terms!

          - Dov

1 reply

Dov Isaacs
Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
Legend
December 12, 2014

Thanks for posing this question.

Although fonts have embedding restrictions baked into the font such as preview and print, the real restrictions are to be found in a font's EULA (End User License Agreement) which may have other restrictions including payment of royalties on copies of PDF files or any other asset in which the fonts are embedded.

In the case of any and all fonts sourced from Adobe, not only do you have at least preview and print embedding privileges, but there are no restrictions or royalties required for distribution of files (i.e., PDF, EPS, eBooks, etc.) in which the Adobe fonts are embedded.

In other words, you are “good to go” with Adobe fonts. On the other hand, make no assumption about fonts sourced from other font foundries. Many do not provide such liberal terms!

          - Dov

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    A
    Anonymous
    December 13, 2014

    Hi Dov,

    Thanks for the friendly and prompt reply. However, I think perhaps my question was a bit murky. I wanted to know whether embedding a "Print and Preview" font in a PDF was okay--considering that people cannot edit the PDF in Adobe Reader or the plethora of PDF readers. The only time wherein this might be a problem would be if the user were to crack the file open in a third-party software or if they were to somehow find a way to edit the end file.

    But to my knowledge, PDFs are uneditable anyway, right? As stated, I could always password protect the copying function of the PDF, wherein users cannot copy the text inside it--but I don't know if this means that they cannot edit the file.

    Sorry if this is a bit confusing to read. I'm just trying to make sure I iron out all the kinks in my workflow.

    I hope you can help me :-)

    Dov Isaacs
    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    December 13, 2014

    Again, there are no issues whatsoever for what you propose to do. The license for the fonts fully covers you.

    If someone tries to edit the text formatted with those fonts in Acrobat, unless they have the font installed on their system, their attempts to edit will not allow use of that font.

    And yes, someone could outside of Acrobat extract the font, but since the font information embedded in the font is not the entire font as used to format the original document and for that matter, usually a subset of the available glyphs of the font, the result is not particularly usable.

    You are OK to go!

              - Dov

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
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