Distiller can't find an installed font

[teresaheaps]

I have been using the SimHei font for a long time with no problem. Now when I try to print to Adobe PDF from FrameMaker, Distiller gives an error that the font is not found. I can save as PDF from FrameMaker with no error, so the font is installed and working properly. This is also causing a problem with distilling graphics from FrameMaker files for use in RoboHelp. Distiller worked fine with this font 4 months ago. I have tried reinstalling the font and changing permissions on the font file, to no avail. Any help would be much appreciated, because I'm out of ideas! Here's the error:

[lornab34363975]

I'm having same problem trying to use Acrobat to print to PDF from PowerPoint.

Font installed, fonts embedded when printing from PP. 

Over to you, Adobe. What's up??

[gerhardg36072716]

I have the same problem when I try to save the resultung PDF to a Folder which is synchronised by Microsoft Onedrive.

When I choose another location, the file is created as expected.

%%[ ProductName: Distiller ]%%
DINOffc not found, using Courier.
DINOffc-Bold not found, using Courier.
DINOffc-Medi not found, using Courier.
DINOffc-Light not found, using Courier.
%%[ Error: invalidfont; OffendingCommand: xshow ]%%

Stack:
[100 96 91 91 46 96 54 54 97 46 46 161 46 115 77 97 46 97 98 61 47
100 97 103 97 61 46 99 61 97 103 46 101 97 87 61 97 46 82 97 161 46
108 61 96 61 103 91 46 79 110 103 61 132 104 77 57 79 0]
(



0 ,
-

2"


3 4
)

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%
%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

[lornab34363975]

Sorry to hear you're experiencing the same software bug in Acrobat. OneDrive wasn’t involved in our problem, so this error may have multiple causes. What's clear is that the error message generated "Font not found, using Courier" is NOT the problem, nor is the solution likely to be something that involves re-embedding the font.

Can we get someone from Adobe to investigate this?

It's really helpful to have a community of knowledgeable users, but that's not a substitute for Adobe's requirement to provide customer support!

[Erin Findley, PsyD]

I encountered this same problem as well. The instructions on this page fixed it for me. Hope it works for you too! https://techraptor.net/article/adobe-printing-error-productname-distiller-cambria-not-found-using-co...

[mch58997416]

Great find Erin, that worked for me, thank you for posting it!

[dspano]

Still works, thanks Erin!

[mch58997416]

Thanks for your solution Erin, it works great when saving documents from for example Microsoft Word to a PDF!

However, I find it very strange that this bug an exist for so long even though it is known to Adobe. I'm creating PDF's all the time, and it's quite annoying that I have to have an extra step in each and every time.

Another good solution is to Save as Microsoft PDF and bypass Adobe alltogether.

[C7728914]

Thank you Erin - that was incredibly helpful and immediately solved my problem printing to PDF from Excel too!  Very much appreciated.

[james_1787]

Thank you!

[MykaF]

It's Mar of 2024 and your fix worked for me too!  Thank you so much, I have an old Acrobat Pro X version and this fix worked!!  ♥

[Andreas31574567aglb]

Hi, for anyone facing the same issue: For me the solution was to install the fonts in the correct C:\Windows\Fonts directory. Windows placed my manually installed fonts in some Word Roaming directory for my Windows user account but not for all users into the default Windows fonts directory. After I fixed this by uninstalling the fonts and installing them directly into the Windows fonts directory everything worked as expected.

Hope this helps.

[mch58997416 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Andreas31574567aglb, thank you for posting that. Unfortunately for me it doesn't solve the problem. I always install my fonts directly into c:\windows\fonts. The only thing that is working for me is to remove the check from "Rely on system fonts only, do not use document fonts" in the printer properties when printing the document to Adobe PDF.
Of course there is always the solution of using Microsoft Print to PDF, which works without issues.

[Andreas31574567aglb]

Did you check the c:\windows\fonts directory in the Windows command line tool? I also saw the manually installed font when accessing the fonts directory in Explorer. But when I've run (WIN+R) "cmd", then "cd C:\Windows\Fonts" and finally "dir". I didn't see the font files I've installed manually.

Another way to find out the real location of the font files is to open the properties dialogue for the missing font in the fonts directory in Explorer and then look for the location info.

[mch58997416]

I checked, and you are correct! The fonts appear in c:\windows\fonts in Explorer, but not via the cmd line. I checked the file location in the properties, and it was indeed inside my profile.
That leaves me with the question of how to install them properly into the windows\fonts folder. I always install fonts by dragging the font files to that folder in Explorer. This is also the process Microsoft suggests is the best way.
Do you know what the right way of installing is?

[mch58997416]

The right-click-on-font-and-select-install for all users is not available to me. Nor is the regular install option. I am the sole user, owner and admin of the PC, using a local account (no Microsoft account).

[Andreas31574567aglb]

I'm not sure if that's the correct way to do it. But that's how I accomplished it: In the command line (cmd) with admin privileges I copied the font files directly into C:\Windows\Fonts with "copy".

[mch58997416]

Mmm...I'm surprised that works. Installing a font is not the same as copying it. It needs to register itself into the registry, which is what happens when you install it. Anyway, thanks a lot for your help, it's brought the solution a lot closer. Although it would still be my preference if Adobe would update their software so it would work for all fonts installed. But since they don't care about their customers, that will probably not be coming shortly.

[Toby34106402tsmh]

Thanks all for your exploration and discussion. Had the same issue and managed to fix it because of you guys. Cheers

[mikes15457966]

Hi, I have been having this problem for a while with both Win 10  & 11 with a 2004 era ttf.

This is how you fix it:

1. Delete the problematic font in C\windows>fonts folder.

2. Right click the the font

3. Select adminstrative\"install for all users".  The font will go to the correct  C:windows\fonts folder. 

I think MS goofed up/reversed this code. If you select "install", it inserts the font into C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts, allowing roaming with 365. The font doesnt actually end up in C:\windows\fonts folder, and distiller will not pick it up on launch.