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Strange problem with distiller font error

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
April 7, 2017
3 replies
11537 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?

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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

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

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

Legend

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

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

In this case there are two issues that the Distiller is giving you diagnostics about:

The first is with regards to the Distiller finding PDF/X-4-based joboptions. Distiller does not support PDF/X-4 and thus rejects that joboptions file. However, that is a warning and has nothing to do with failure of converting the file from PostScript to PDF.

The error that is important here is

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

Stack:

/Font

-dict-

/SMFIZI+ProximaNova-Regular

This indicates an actual error in the font file that was inserted into the PostScript file, probably by a printer driver someplace in your workflow. The problem may be the original font itself or how the driver inserted the font (which is actually a font subset).

The list of fonts is normal when you run the Distiller the first time after installation or if it needs to rebuild its cache.

- Dov

Thanks so much Dov Isaacs. What could be a better work-flow for this person? I think we discussed this before. Should they just try to use InDesign exclusively and not MS Word?

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Test Screen Name

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

A

arijon124Author

Participating Frequently

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

Legend

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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