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Font size changes when converting to PDF

New Here ,
Mar 06, 2015 Mar 06, 2015

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When I convert Word 11.0 text sized document to PDF,  text size becomes 10.98. This is for grant submission and text size must be 11.0.

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Mar 06, 2015 Mar 06, 2015

This is a problem that has plagued applications under Windows going back well over 20 years!

 

The issue of the resultant text size in PDF files being a small fraction of a point different from that specified in the application is due to how these Windows applications output either via print or the internal pathway used for creation of PDF with either Microsoft or Adobe tools. The text you specify in your Office document (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) as 11 point type may appear as 10.98 point

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Mar 06, 2015 Mar 06, 2015

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This is a problem that has plagued applications under Windows going back well over 20 years!

 

The issue of the resultant text size in PDF files being a small fraction of a point different from that specified in the application is due to how these Windows applications output either via print or the internal pathway used for creation of PDF with either Microsoft or Adobe tools. The text you specify in your Office document (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) as 11 point type may appear as 10.98 point or 11.04 point in the resultant PDF file.

 

The same symptoms occur regardless of whether you produce PDF using the Adobe PDFMaker “save as Adobe PDF” function (part of Acrobat installed into Office applications), Microsoft's native “save as PDF,” or via print drivers including the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance as well as third party print drivers that create PDF. Furthermore, it you looked at the PostScript generated by the PostScript printer driver, the PCL generated by the PCL printer driver, or could even measure the type actually you would see that these applications are actually requesting these oddball point sizes and that is what you get for printed output.

 

Unfortunately, there is nothing that Adobe can do about this.

 

If it eases your mind at all,  although we have heard about and have experience this issue ourselves over the years, we have never heard of a grant proposal or a government document submission (such as required by pharmaceutical companies to the FDA) to be rejected on the basis of 11pt text appearing in a PDF file as 10.98pt, 10.92pt, or 11.04pt.  Apparently, those values are “close enough for government work.”

 

Note that Windows applications that do generate their own PDF, such as InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop do yield exact point sizes, primarily because they don't go through the Windows imaging model.

 

         - Dov

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

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New Here ,
Oct 25, 2019 Oct 25, 2019

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Does anyone have any updates about a fix or work around for this?

Is it dependent on version of Word and/or Adobe Acrobat DC and/or if the original file was created on a Mac vs PC?

Grant guidelines have changed and does not allow for this known error.

Thanks in advanced!

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Oct 25, 2019 Oct 25, 2019

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The response I provided in March 2015 in this thread and again numerous times in other threads still applies.

 

This is a Microsoft problem and from what we can tell, specifically with their Office applications. Only point sizes that are multiples of 3 points (i.e., 6 pt, 9 pt, 12 pt, 15 pt, etc.) come out in either print or PDF at the exact value specified.

 

There is absolutely NOTHING that Adobe or anyone else can do about this. You might want to advise those producing the “grant guidelines” of this issue and that unless they allow for the “Microsoft Roundoff Error” they will need to either change the allowable point sizes to be multiples of 3 points or rule out use of Microsoft word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet products.

 

            - Dov

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

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Oct 25, 2019 Oct 25, 2019

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Further Update!

 

I tested PDF creation from Word documents on both Windows and MacOS using both Adobe's PDFMaker capabilities (part of Acrobat) and Microsoft's built-in Save as PDF as well as printing to the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance on Windows.

 

In all cases, as previously stated, only point sizes that are multiples of 3 points (i.e., 6 pt, 9 pt, 12 pt, 15 pt, etc.) come out in either print or PDF at the exact value specified. All others are a few hundreths of an inch either beneath or above the point size specified in the original document. This problem is OS independent. Good news is that is consistent. Bad news is that it is consistently bad!

 

Complain to Microsoft; we have already and they ignore us. Maybe $$$$-paying customers can have some effect.  😏

 

            - Dov

 

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

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New Here ,
Mar 22, 2020 Mar 22, 2020

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Hey, I have simillar kind of issue.

 

I am trying to generate pdf from htmlDocument via c# code. I have specified 26px to the content.
When the pdf generates and I download the pdf, the content size becomes 24px.

This happens with other sizes too, like I have provided 13 px in my css class for htmldoc

and pdf shows it as 16px.

 

where there is such discrepancy?

 

 

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Explorer ,
Mar 23, 2020 Mar 23, 2020

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I was having similar trouble when creating PDF from Word in Adobe, just follow the answers above and it solved my problem. After that, it became easy to convert HTML files or JPG to PDF in it.

 

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LEGEND ,
Mar 23, 2020 Mar 23, 2020

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dubeyricha, Ask the company who makes the C# library, I assume you aren't using Adobe tech to make a PDF. However, be aware that HTML is only a suggested layout, and it is very common for settings to be messed with eg for printing. If you need precise font control, HTML is not a good starting point!

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New Here ,
May 01, 2021 May 01, 2021

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I'd like to mention that in my case Arial 12pt changed to Arial 10.5pt.

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New Here ,
Jun 10, 2021 Jun 10, 2021

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FYI: I just got a warning from the NIH on 2 grants in review for “10.98 throughout the research strategy section.” They said they would allow them to be reviewed but the next one would be rejected. I have tried multiple ways to save and covert and all result in 10.98 font size.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 23, 2020 Mar 23, 2020

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All the answers are above, you should start by reading them.

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New Here ,
Feb 17, 2023 Feb 17, 2023

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Sir, would you please let me know if it's possible to get font size 11 in my PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader, 64 bit?

Regards,

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LEGEND ,
Feb 18, 2023 Feb 18, 2023

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Already answered in great detail. 

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