Type 3 Fonts

[santhoshr29800103]

Hi,

Type 3 font is used in one of my client supplied PDF.

Can anyone suggest if we retain the Type 3 fonts to proceed to go printer. Or is this risk? Please confirm.

Thanks,

Santhosh

[Test Screen Name]

I do not see any risk. A type 3 font exists only inside the PDF; it does not match any font file. It's actually a collection of graphics arranged into a font; we can see that this might be a good way to do mathematical formulae. Type 3 fonts are normal and standard, and should work in every PDF viewer or printer; there seems no reason at all to reject them.

[UserZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG]

What about for accessibility? I see that type 3 fonts are not storing the visual text as actual content in the contents panel, nor does it appear to be mappable to Unicode which is a requirement for PDF/UA. 

[Tariq Ahmad Dar]

Hello, 

Thanks for raising these questions.

Let me break it down and also add a key point about accessibility, which is often overlooked in discussions about font types.

1. Can Acrobat convert Type 3 fonts to Type 1 or TrueType fonts?

     No, Acrobat doesn’t offer a direct way to convert Type 3 fonts to Type 1 or TrueType.

2. Does printing to Adobe PDF remove or change Type 3 fonts?

     Sometimes, yes — printing to the Adobe PDF Printer can cause Acrobat to re-render the file using available system fonts. In some cases, this replaces Type 3 fonts with TrueType or Type 1, but the results are inconsistent and not reliable for compliance workflows.

3. Can you remove or replace Type 3 fonts within Acrobat?

     Not directly. Acrobat Pro allows you to view font info under File > Properties > Fonts, but doesn’t provide built-in tools to replace embedded fonts.: https://adobe.ly/43suj87

4. Accessibility Warning About Type 3 Fonts

This is a critical issue: Type 3 fonts are not accessible — they:

• Do not support Unicode mapping, which screen readers rely on.

• They are often rendered as vector shapes, not searchable/selectable text.

• Fail accessibility checks in Acrobat’s Accessibility Checker and most WCAG conformance tools.

Note: For accessibility-compliant PDFs, Type 3 fonts should be avoided entirely.

To ensure both print and accessibility compliance:

1. Go back to the source document (Word, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.)
2. Use standard system fonts (e.g., Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri).
3. Export the PDF using:

• High-quality PDF settings

• PDF/A or PDF/X profiles if required

• Font embedding enabled

4. Run an Accessibility Check in Acrobat (Tools > Accessibility > Full Check) after creation.

~Tariq