Huge font issue with Illustrator! Help if you can.

Hi JemmaB!

Do you really need to package the file at all? Can you not send a print-ready PDF instead? Your print vendor should be able to provide you with settings compatible with their processes.

You don't need to outline fonts for a PDF, as a subset of font outlines are created in the PDF; this is within the license terms of the vast majority of font vendors, and Illustrator should warn you if that is not possible. I've only ever come across one font that did not allow this, so then had to create a copy and actually outline the text in Illustrator. I'm aware that the word outline/s is used many times in that answer—apologies for that—but the instances in bold, refer to actually outlining your text in Illustrator, whereas the italic instances are made from the font itself, by Acrobat. I hope that makes sense.

🙂

There has always beem the restriction when packaging fonts, that the receiving end has to have a license for those fonts. The reason to use your packaged version is that the version can differ from what the printer has.

But, unless the printer needs to change the content of the Illustrator file, sending a PDF is the safest way to ensure that your version of the fonts (they get embedded) are used.

The reason you cannot package Adobe fonts is that the receiving party already has access to the same fonts because they need an Illustrator subscription to open Illustrator files and fonts are part of that subscription.

Oh, and re:"and can't send THEIR fonts to a printer".

You don't need to. If they are using Creative Cloud apps, they have access to the same fonts as you do. There's no need to give them to anybody.

Unfortunately, Adobe just made some changes. You can outline fonts in a copy of your file and hope that this does not create width to the text or create a pdf which should embed the font for you.

"Adobe no longer supports 3rd party fonts"

Not exactly true. There's nothing wrong with 3rd party fonts, but going forward soon you won't be able to use them if they are Type 1.

Regardless.. it sounds like you are working on a Mac with I'm assuming old Type 1 fonts.

The "exec" thing is normal as the font format of these predates OSX. What you get in your folder are still font files, but they are "recognized" as generic files.

But the main thing to take from this, is packaging fonts to provide to a vendor is no longer the way to go. You should be providing PDFs.