Barcode disappears on my document when editing

Melden · Jan 31, 2023

I prepare Pick Tickets for our Bulk Loading Trailers and our paperwork contains a barcode. After converting our Pick Tickets to PDF, I add details to them (i.e. Ship Dates, Del Dates, etc.) and everytime I do this, a section of the barcode disappears. Why does this keep happening? I have attached a sample of what I have to deal with on a daily basis. How can I make this stop?

Melden · Jan 31, 2023

Are you adding the type in Acrobat? are you viewing the pdf in Acrobat (or Reader)? It's possible the barcode is a font and the font is not properly embedding, there may also be an overprinting issue. Can you upload a sample pdf showing the problem?

Melden · Feb 01, 2023

Do you need more than the image I already uploaded?

Melden · Feb 01, 2023

Thank you by the way. You may be right. The font might not be properly embedding. I don't think I can upload the actual document because of the information it contains, however I will see if I can remove pertinent info and try uploading again. Stand by...

Melden · Feb 01, 2023

I found that the font name for the text on my document in Adobe Acrobat is "Thorndale AMT". The font name for the barcode is indicating "Free 3 of 9 Extended". Very Strange. Here's a quick view of the font names for both text and the barcode itself.

Melden · Feb 01, 2023

It's hard to pinpoint a cause without seeing an actual pdf with a barcode.

You can click on the gray button below to upload a pdf (with confidential info removed).

Are you adding the type in Acrobat? are you viewing the pdf in Acrobat (or Reader)?

Melden · Feb 02, 2023

Yes, I am using Adobe Acrobat.

Actually, I just tried to remove the sensitive content (to upload for you) but the barcode disappears partially again. So, I'm going to have to print it (while the barcode is still intact), black it out, and rescan it to my email, save it, and upload it. This will happen later. I have no time right now.

Melden · Feb 02, 2023

If you print and scan the barcode it will become an image and won't help us diagnose the issue. Send the original pdf with the information removed with a partial barcode, or send the pdf to me via a private message, when you have time.

Melden · Feb 02, 2023

Actually, not necessarily.... My scanned documents come in as pdfs. I'm going to work on this now. Stand by...

Melden · Feb 02, 2023

Sorry it took so long... I got distracted!!!

Okay, the first one "BARCODE (1)" is the partial barcode disappearance upon editing.

The second one "BARCODE (2)" is the scanned version.

Melden · Feb 02, 2023

the font "Free 3 of 9 Extended appears to be embedded in your supplied pdf with the partial barcode, (I'm assuming the 3 of 9 Extended font is embedded in the pdf before you try to edit it) In Acrobat go to File> Properties> Fonts, I'm not sure why the barcode does not display correctly and I can't fix it here. I do have some suggestions for you to try on the pdf to prevent the barcode from breaking.

1. First try to turn on the Acrobat page display preference to use local fonts and restart Acrobat, if the preference is on, try turning it off, test your pdf by adding type.

2. Download the Free 3 of 9 Extended font, restart Acrobat, test your pdf.

3. Run an Acrobat preflight profile- Tools> Print Production> Preflight> Select profiles (see attached screen shot), try each of the two profiles identified by the arrows, one at a time and test your pdf.

If you downloaded and activated the font, the profile to "embed missing fonts" may fix the issue, even though the fonts are not listed as missing in Acrobat.

Melden · Feb 03, 2023

Good morning! Wow, Thank you!

I will try these options as soon as I get settled in. And just as an FYI... I did not download this font. My company has been using these documents for years, however, they were handwriting the necessary details and faxing them out. When I came onboard a few years ago, I wanted to do things a little more digitally so I requested a license that would allow me to edit and also provide me with the capabilities to also process these documents from home and email them instead. This office is still in Bedrock unfortunately and the same methods used decades ago are still in place today. As I began processing these, I noticed some time ago that there was a barcode issue. I asked if they were ever scanned, and yes, they are... but only under certain circumstances - not all the time. I will get back to you as soon as I settle in. Thanks again!

Melden · Feb 03, 2023

Number 1 = Failed

Number 2 = Unable to find where to download the font. Tried different links from Adobe - still looking.

Number 3 = See attached. I do not have the same options as your attachment.

I tried this link: https://www.adobe.com/products/type/install-instructions.html

Navigated to the folder - that particular font is not listed. I'm lost, but still researching/googling.

Melden · Feb 03, 2023

I put in a ticket with our IT department on this. I'll let you know if they can resolve this issue.

Thank you so much for all your help!!! I really appreciate it!

Melden · Feb 03, 2023

You can download the font here:

https://fonts2u.com/download/free-3-of-9-extended-regular.font

Note, they are trying to get you to download an extension, so be careful to only download the zipped font, that's all you need.

You are looking at the "Essentials" preflight profiles, click on the button at the top of the panel and select "Acrobat Pro DC 2015 Profiles" (see attached screen shot).

Melden · Feb 08, 2023

My IT dept is still working on my issue. Unfortunately, I am unable to click on the link you provided. Company restrictions. But thank you so much for all your help! I have shown them your responses and they did try it but was unsuccessful. The font is in fact downloaded, however, it is not working for some reason. It could be a more deeper problem than I expected.