Opentype PS fonts are identified as Type 1 fonts when saving InDesign files to PDF.

[designSIQ]

When Adobe stops supporting Type1 fonts will OPENTYPE-PS be supported?  OR will OPENTYPE-TT be the only font format supported?

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

There is no such thing as OPENTYPE-PS.

I think you mean OpenType CFF versus OpenType TTF.

OpenType CFF is based on Bezier outlines and hinting using the same technology as the original Type 1 fonts. OpenType TTF is based on quadratic curve outlines and a different hinting mechanism, the same as with TrueType fonts.

In terms of which font formats will be supported, InDesign, Illustrator, and FrameMaker as well as Photoshop will continue to support OpenType CFF, OpenType TTF, OpenType Variable CFF2, OpenType Variable TTF, OpenType SVG TTF, and OpenType SVG TTF as well as the original TrueType fonts (although such older TrueType fonts have many of the same limitations as the Type 1 fonts).

Note that Adobe is absolutely not dropping support for Type 1 fonts in Acrobat or for purposes of placing existing EPS and PDF files with embedded Type 1 fonts into InDesign, Illustrator, and FrameMaker documents. (Type 1 fonts are an integral part of the PostScript and PDF specifications!)

With regards to what InDesign labels OpenType CFF fonts as when creating PDF, consider that labelling a side effect of the fact that within a PDF file the original Type 1 fonts and OpenType CFF fonts are both typically inserted as Type 1C fonts, Bezier outline-based fonts with CFF encoding. Don't worry about that!!! 

[designSIQ]

Suitcase does identify fonts as OpenType -TT and OpenType-PS. See screenshot above.

When I save an InDesign file as a PDF the OpenType-PS version saves as Postscript, however the OpenType-TT version saves as Truetype.

As a graphic designer, the burning question is....when a client needs to have a change made to a PDF file which uses the OpenType-PS font will we be able to edit that PDF file properly, or even be able to open the PDF in Illustrator as we do currently to make changes?

If Acrobat is converting Opentype-PS to Postscript fonts, how will we be able to identify the fonts actually used to create the original document? 

[Dov Isaacs]

Quite frankly, it doesn't make a difference what Suitcase labels the fonts as (maybe they should label them as Fred and Barney!). If the original font is an OpenType CFF font, you can do edits in Acrobat Pro if you have the original OpenType CFF font installed on your system. Likewise, if the original font is an OpenType TTF font, you can do edits in Acrobat Pro if you have the original OpenType TTF font installed on your system. The font names in the PDF file (seen under Document Properties=>Fonts) match the “PostScript names” of the original OpenType fonts.

HOWEVER, note that Adobe Illustrator is not, repeat not, repeat yet again not a general purpose PDF file editor. Illustrator only supports a subset of the PDF imaging model. The only PDF files that Adobe Illustrator can fully and succesfully open and properly edit are PDF files that were saved from that version or earlier of Illustrator, that have not been subsequently edited in Acrobat (or anything else), and for which the fonts are installed on your system. For example, Illustrator doesn't support opening PDF files with mixtures of CMYK and RGB or for that matter, dealing with PDF files using fonts that aren't installed on the system, even if they are embedded in the PDF file!). FWIW, you have no idea how many problems that we hear about that are encounted by our customers whose PDF files were unknownst to them “fixed” (whethere they needed such or not) by print service providers who routinely opened and attempted to make modifications to PDF files (especially exported from InDesign) in Illustrator.

[Gary24237288f1qp]

Hi - just seen the date on this post so it looks like I'm very late to this party, but I've found that how fonts are labelled does matter if tyou want to add a font check to an InDesign preflight profile it reports all fonts labelled as Opentype - PS as Type 1?

Is there a way to identify Type 1 fonts in preflight without Opentype - PS font's being included?

[Petecooperlondon]

Hi,

You seem very knowledgeable so I am hoping you can put my mind at rest.

I installed an OTF font on my mac using font book.

When I look in Find/replace font - Info the Type is OpenType Type 1 (see screenshot attached)

In the main panel it reports Type 1 fonts:0

Do you think I will be fine in Jan 2023 regarding non support of T1 fonts with this document / font?

I only ask as if I make a PDF from InDesign and preflight it - it reports that Gotham Office Bold is a T1 font. This scares me as I have a very important client that uses this font.

Do you think all will be well with this font?

Thanks,

Pete

[Gary265976051dan]

Hi Alistair5C59

That's very kind of you but I'm probably as much in the dark as you! As the font is Opentype I think it should be ok, but it's rather difficult to be sure. I believe that if you have the font loaded in the latest version of InDesign you should get a message about unsupported fonts when you open the document with it in if it's Postscript and won't be supported post January, which I don't think you get if the font is ok.

[noelrobson10]

Hi there

I have a similar question, to what i think was being asked here -

I have an InDesign file using OTF fonts (in this case Weidermann Std), I make the PDF file from InDesign and when using the Document properties=>fonts option the font lists as Type 1. It also lists as Type 1 in Pitstop.

Is there a way to identify font types from just the PDF? - in my case I am trying to check through hundreds of published PDF files for ongoing series and journals in a bid to identify those that use Type 1 fonts in order to establish how many type 1 fonts have been used that sit outside of our Font Folio 11.1 library, and will require being purchased as OTF versions going forwards.

Thanks

Noel

[Test Screen Name]

It is entirely normal for font types to be converted during making a PDF, and often they are converted to type 1. So you can't discover anything about the original font type by making a PDF. Important: this is not a problem for PDF and they do not need "fixing".

[noelrobson10]

Thank you, yes I am aware of that, and im not saying it needs fixing, my question was, is there a way to identify original font types from a PDF?

Thanks 🙂

[Test Screen Name]

No, you cannot know what the original font type was, before the PDF was made. There's nowhere in a PDF to keep that information.