Acrobat DC Std, can I embed fonts or convert pdf to image?

Report · May 24, 2016

I'm using Acrobat DC Standard Edition, Windows 10. I'm trying to create a PDF file that can be electronically filed with the US Patent Office. They require that you embed any fonts used in your PDF file. To comply with this requirement, I have two options:

1. I can embed the fonts into the PDF file (or the subset of fonts that are used in that document); or

2. I can convert to an image file in PDF format ... since the image file has no fonts, I don't have to embed any.

Can I accomplish either of these in the Standard version, or do I have to upgrade to DC Pro?

If there is a way to do either of these in DC Std, how do I do it?

I have Photoshop, and I tried opening the PDF file in Photoshop, converting each page to an image (PNG), and then creating a new PDF file from the PNG files. It worked, but the file is HUGE! I tried Save As Other>Reduced size PDF, and it did reduce the file size, but the reduced file size is still over 3 MB vs 128kb for the original PDF file.

Thanks.

Report · May 25, 2016

Acrobat Pro can embed fonts AFTER the PDF is made; Standard or Pro can embed fonts at the time the PDF is made. Either one can use SAVE AS to save an image file that contains what a PDF contains; neither one can convert a PDF to an "image only" PDF.

Creating via Photoshop will work. Large file size is the price to pay for an image only PDF, and the reason we don't do that if we can help it (that and ruining the quality)! The resolution you use decides the file size.

Why not just embed fonts when you make the PDF...? How are you making the PDF?

Report · May 25, 2016

Thanks for your reply. Very helpful.

I'm not sure how to embed fonts as I'm creating the file. One file was created from Microsoft Word. The other was created by a graphics program. In both cases I just printed the files using the Acrobat PDF printer.

I can save from the graphics program to a variety of different file types. Are there particular file types I need in order to embed fonts when creating the PDF? (Saving from within the graphics program directly as a PDF file apparently doesn't embed the fonts.)

Report · May 25, 2016

When you print to the Adobe PDF printer, it's your choice whether to embed fonts. Go to printer properties and you can select and edit the PDF creation settings. This is important; the default produces small files at the cost of quality.

There is no generic answer for each different way of making PDF; each method may or may not offer font embedding. You need to be much more specific than "graphics program"... though if you just print to Adobe PDF this may not apply. However, when an app can generate PDF directly, it is often better to do so.

Report · May 25, 2016

Thanks once again for your quick reply. The graphics program is a fairly obscure program called "Canvas" from ACD Systems. So obscure that I thought identifying it wouldn't be of any help.