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A
arijon124
Participating Frequently
April 7, 2017
Answered

Strange problem with distiller font error

  • April 7, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 11506 views

I'm trying to support someone to create a PDF from a MS Word 2011 document in OS X. She normally does the layout in Word, then to generate the PDF goes to the Print dialog to convert the file to PS, which she then opens in Distiller to make the PDF (generating the PDF directly from the Print dialog in Word creates visual oddities in the images, so she says she's kind of stuck doing it this way). For some reason though she's getting an error where Distiller crashes when it hits a specific font (Proxima-Nova, which she says she is NOT using in the file). How to resolve this? In this forum they were trying to solve the issue by re-install the Proxima-Nova font, but it doesn't appear to be clear if that's definitely the answer, or if there are any steps to take in the Distiller settings beyond just downloading and installing the font.

Any thoughts?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Dov Isaacs

Hi Dov Isaacs,

I just PM'ed you the file as requested. Please let me know if you're open to taking a look still!

Thanks,

Ari L.


Ari,

I just responded to you via PM in which I have provided my phone contact info. Please call me. I found the problem but It is too complex to write out easily ... 

          - Dov

3 replies

T
Test Screen Name
Braniac
August 9, 2019

it's probably not the cause, but there is no situation in which the PDF/X4:2008 job options should be used with Distiller. Distiller can't make PDF/X-4. This job option is for other apps.  The error may be an issue in the font itself or in the PostScript driver.

Dov Isaacs
Dov Isaacs
Braniac
April 7, 2017

Why in the world would they create PDF from Word, especially under MacOS, by creating PostScript and then distilling? Even without Acrobat installed, you can easily create PDF from Word both directly from Word and from the print dialog. Adding Acrobat provides a means of getting an Adobe Acrobat-optimized PDF file.

The only reason to go through the craziness of creating PostScript and then converting that to PDF would be if you have EPS graphics in your Word document, something that is exceptionally rare these days.

If the person you are helping is getting “visual oddities” in the images when directly creating PDF, there are likely problems in either the Word document, the images / artwork within the Word document, or both. Perhaps you can provide a sample?

Note that one of the possibilities regarding the unexpected call for a font that one believes is not used in a document is that (1) such a font is used in the underlying Word template and/or (2) a non-printing area within the document such as a tab or paragraph ending is formatted in that font.

          - Dov

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
A
arijon124Author
Participating Frequently
April 7, 2017

Dov,

Thanks for your response. What would be the easiest way to get you a sample? Save the file in Google Drive and then include the link in a reply?

Best,

Ari

A
arijon124Author
Participating Frequently
June 4, 2018

Ari,

I just responded to you via PM in which I have provided my phone contact info. Please call me. I found the problem but It is too complex to write out easily ... 

          - Dov


Hi again Dov,

Thanks for reaching out to me and giving me advice! My client just sent me this email asking if you'd be open to taking a look again?

I can’t use distiller to move the postscript file (originally a Word doc) into a pdf.

(I was just using it to move an InDesign file into a pdf, and it did work.)

Seems like it’s this line, same in both versions:

%%[ Error: invalidfont; OffendingCommand: definefont; ErrorInfo: StemSnapH --nostringval-- ]%%

Acrobat Distiller 18.0

Started: 5/30/18 at 9:07 PM

Adobe PostScript software version: 3018.101

CID support library initialization completed.

Error in /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PDF/Settings/PDFX4 2008.joboptions:

/CheckCompliance out of range

Distilling: 3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.ps

Start Time: 5/30/18 at 9:04 PM

Source: /Users/melody1/Desktop/3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.ps

Destination: /Users/melody1/Desktop/3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.pdf

Adobe PDF Settings: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PDF/Settings/Press Quality.joboptions

%%[ Error: invalidfont; OffendingCommand: definefont; ErrorInfo: StemSnapH --nostringval-- ]%%

Stack:

/Font

-dict-

/NFGGID+ProximaNova-Regular

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%

%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

Distill Time: 5 seconds (00:00:05)

**** End of Job ****

with older version of Distiller:

Acrobat Distiller 9.5.5

Started: Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at 9:06 PM

Adobe PostScript software version: 3018.101

CID support library initialization completed.

Error in /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PDF/Settings/PDFX4 2008.joboptions:

/CheckCompliance out of range

Distilling: 3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.ps

Start Time: Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at 9:06 PM

Source: /Users/melody1/Desktop/3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.ps

Destination: /Users/melody1/Desktop/3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.pdf

Adobe PDF Settings: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe PDF/Settings/Press Quality.joboptions

%%[ Error: invalidfont; OffendingCommand: definefont; ErrorInfo: StemSnapH --nostringval-- ]%%

Stack:

/Font

-dict-

/NFGGID+ProximaNova-Regular

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%

%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

Distill Time: 9 seconds (00:00:09)

**** End of Job ****

If the print job is not particularly large, I can just go straight to “make a pdf.” I had just forgotten, as I don’t use the postscript/distiller thing all the time.

This workbook is 99 pages and graphic-laden. When I just make the pdf without using postscript/distiller, the graphics are poorer quality. The text all has styles associated with it.

Would love to know what the “offending command” is! (besides Trump et al)

When we worked on this before, I made sure that Proxima Nova was correctly in the Font Book.

Wondering if there’s a setting somewhere in PS or Distiller…

Links to files: 3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.pdf

(one example: p55, G - R - O - W letters are dropped slightly, and there appear to be ghostly white letters showing on left, behind the Why triangle at top. It may not look like a big thing, but an example of poorer overall graphic quality throughout.)

3 Splunk_CLP-D_Workbook-May2018.docx

T
Test Screen Name
Braniac
April 7, 2017

Distiller's error messages often have more in than you think. Please copy/paste the whole log.

A
arijon124Author
Participating Frequently
April 7, 2017

Here is the error log:

%%[ Error: invalidfont; OffendingCommand: definefont; ErrorInfo: StemSnapH --nostringval-- ]%%

Stack:

/Font

-dict-

/TNMCYP+ProximaNova-Regular

%%[ Flushing: rest of job (to end-of-file) will be ignored ]%%

%%[ Warning: PostScript error. No PDF file produced. ] %%

Dov Isaacs
Dov Isaacs
Braniac
April 7, 2017

That error is very specific. The font is in fact embedded in the PostScript file that is being distilled, but it apparently has an error in the font definition itself. The font file itself installed on that Mac may be corrupted or the font itself might be crufty. Obviously, if the document's author doesn't believe she is using the font, one would need to thoroughly go through the Word document and try to find and eliminate the reference to the font.

          - Dov

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