Embedding fonts in an existing PDF

[paul crouch]

Good afternoon,

I’ve been trying without success to embed fonts in an existing PDF using Acrobat Pro DC, and would much appreciate some help.

The fonts are Adobe Garamond Pro Regular/Italic and Rats Regular/Alternate (whose license does allow embedding), and both are present in my system’s font folders.

Thanks to help given to some other questioners, I have found the ‘Embed missing fonts’ command (Print production – Preflight – Acrobat Pro DC 2015 Profiles - PDF fixups). And after running ‘Analyse and fix’, I have got the green checkmark and the assurance: ‘Preflight profile “Embed missing fonts” did not find any errors or warnings’.

However, I am also told here: ‘Embedded files: none’. And indeed, at first, under ‘Fonts Used in this Document’ (File - Document properties, Fonts tab), I find no fonts at all are listed. But then when I choose ‘Edit PDF’, the long list that now appears (still under ‘Fonts Used in this Document’) consists only of embedded Times New Roman items. Times New Roman, though, was not a font I used in this document (which I created myself), and the only fonts I did use, the Garamond and Rats, are not even mentioned here, let alone shown as embedded.

Perhaps I should add that in Page Display (Preferences – Categories), ‘Use Local Fonts’ is selected.

Sorry to display such ignorance, but I’m using Acrobat for the first time.

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

We would really need to see you post a sample of the PDF file, preferably before and after in order to begin to analyze what is really going on here. Based on your initial description, it almost sounds like the document didn't have any text using fonts at all; perhaps all the text was outlined or rasterized?!? Post the samples and we can better assist you.

          - Dov

[paul crouch]

The document as I created it in Photoshop Elements included text layers using those two fonts. I saved the file as a PDF after flattening it. Could I have saved it as a PDF without flattening it? Would the fonts then have been listed in the Document Properties on opening the PDF in Acrobat, and could I then have embedded them? As you see, I am rather out of my depth. Thanks for your response!

[Abambo]

Could it be that you responded by e-mail and tried attaching a document?

You need to use dropbox or similar. The forum does not allow attaching files.

[paul crouch]

That’s useful to know. I did find myself at a loss, but tried to convey the needed information in words. I’m much obliged to Mr Isaacs for what he said, in the light of which I will now convert the PSD again, preserving the layers, and see how I get on.

With thanks for the tip,

paul crouch

[Abambo]

Flattening a Photoshop file discards all Photoshop specifics and creates ONE FLAT IMAGE file with only pixel in. There are no fonts any more, only the visual representation of what the fopnt and text is. Photoshop saves layered Photoshop files as PDF by preserving all vector information. It‘s not the prefered tool for creating PDF files, but it works quite well.

[paul crouch]

I have a book to be uploaded to Kindle Direct Publishing in the form of two PDFs. I did the interior as a Microsoft Word .docx & the cover as a .psd. KDP’s instructions regarding the cover are to embed fonts & images, flatten all layers (no transparencies), & save as a press quality PDF. KDP also say (as does Adobe Acrobat DC Help) that to check whether fonts are embedded, you go to the Fonts tab under the File/Properties in Adobe Acrobat – ‘Every font in the list needs to show “Embedded” or “Embedded subset”…’

As mentioned, I had first saved the .psd as a PDF in Photoshop Elements after flattening the layers. On opening this PDF in Acrobat, I found that the Fonts tab was blank. I gather from what you say that this was to have been expected. I have since converted the .psd again, this time leaving the layers unflattened & using the Adobe PDF printer. Yet on opening this second PDF in Acrobat I found the Fonts tab as uninformative as before. Pressed for time, I have now to convert the Word file, again using the Print command in the authoring application, & can only hope the conversion settings will do (& have done in Elements) what I want them to do. I never really understand anything without having grasped the basics, which for me in a case like this need to be explained in plain language. So what you have told me here is just the kind of thing I find helpful.