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mhallpdx
Participant
August 12, 2010
Answered

Fix non-embedded fonts for USPTO filing

  • August 12, 2010
  • 3 replies
  • 50636 views

Hi,

The United States Patent and Trademark Office does not allow submission of PDF files with non-embedded fonts.

I know how to create documents from Word, etc. that comply with this requirement, but I frequently get PDFs from other sources that do not have  all their fonts embedded, especially the asian fonts.

I know that one possible fix is to print the existing PDF as a PDF image.  However, when I do this my file size becomes MUCH larger than the original.  Re-printing to PDF seems like a very kludgy fix.  Another very iffy fix I've used for large PDFs is to print the PDF document on paper and just scan it with our office scanner, which will keep the file size small but is a waste of time and paper.

Is there no better way to deal with the issue of non-embedded fonts?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Bill12

    If you can read the fonts, there is a preflight routine for embedding fonts I think. You may be able to embed them with PDF Optimize. This does not always work for me. You say that printing to a new PDF is a kludge, but I find it often to be the easiest way to get the fonts embedded. Before printing and rescanning, I would save as a TIFF and then reopen the TIFF files in Acrobat as a new PDF -- a lot simpler than printing and scanning and with better quality. I consider the scanning or equivalent to be a lot more of a kludge than just printing to a new PDF.

    3 replies

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    boo1818
    Participant
    May 25, 2020

    I just want to add if anyone else has tried all the "fixes" like me and STILL could not get it, here's what I did: Used the snipping took to take a "picture" of my drawings. Saved it as JPEG, which is important because at first I saved it as GIF. Then I used Adobe to create a new file combining mutiple "snips". Finally it uploaded to the USPTO website with zero issues....this was after spending 6 hours trying all these other ways to embed fonts only to have the website keep rejecting it. Hope this helps someone!

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    May 25, 2020

    I suspect it will be rejected later, when they realise that you have deleted all the text with these awful "fixes".

    CtDave
    CtDave
    Participating Frequently
    August 16, 2010

    mhallpdx,

    If you've not already come across it -
    Rick Borstein's Blog has an article that may be of interest to you
    (or others involved with USPTO submissions).

    "PDF Creation and Font Embedding for USPTO Submissions"
    http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/?p=60

    n.b., Rick's article closes with a reference to PDF being submitted to ISO for consideration.
    Since mid-2008, PDF has been an ISO Standard (32000).

    Be well...

    B
    Bill12Correct answer
    Inspiring
    August 12, 2010

    If you can read the fonts, there is a preflight routine for embedding fonts I think. You may be able to embed them with PDF Optimize. This does not always work for me. You say that printing to a new PDF is a kludge, but I find it often to be the easiest way to get the fonts embedded. Before printing and rescanning, I would save as a TIFF and then reopen the TIFF files in Acrobat as a new PDF -- a lot simpler than printing and scanning and with better quality. I consider the scanning or equivalent to be a lot more of a kludge than just printing to a new PDF.

    M
    mhallpdxAuthor
    Participant
    August 12, 2010

    *sigh* ...I guess your options and my options are all kludges, since Adobe doesn't give an actual "embed fonts" command.

    But thank you for the TIFF suggestion.  I will stick with the "print to PDF" option, and keep the TIFF as a secondary option if file size is an issue.

    Thanks.

    B
    Bill12
    Inspiring
    August 12, 2010

    Did you look under preflight. I can do that later on my tablet and see what is there. As I recall, there is a setup to embed fonts, but then I could be wrong. If so, that is by far the cleanest way to get the fonts embedded. When you save, be sure to use Save As. If you want to save as a prior version, use either Reduce File Size or PDF Optimize in Acrobat.

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