PDF formatting text incorrectly from AI file

[marks_07]

Hi, When saving my Illustrator file as a PDF, some of the letters appear to be distorted. I have attached an example of the error, notice the double l in 'sell'

It's only on key letters, is there a fix to this?

Update: I have attached my preference settings from Acrobat, if this helps.

Thanks

[Ton Frederiks]

Looks good when I open it in Acrobat. But the example you give is not a font anymore but outlined.

[tromboniator · Accepted solution]

See if it helps to do this:

Peter

[marks_07]

Yes this has worked, thanks for your help!

[marks_07]

Hi, So I have fixed the problem for me, however this is a document that will be downloaded by other people, is there a way of saving the preferences on the doc, meaning by default that the enhance thin lines box is unticked when people open it?

Thanks

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse · Accepted solution]

"is there a way of saving the preferences on the doc"

No. This is a viewer-related issue. It has to be set by the end user.

It's also an Acrobat-specific issue with the "Enhanced Thin Lines" option. Other viewers are not affected by it. It also doesn't affect print quality.

The issue is how the PDF file format handles simple rectangles in compressing the file.

When you convert a font to outline, sanserif letters like a lower-case "L" or capital "I", become simple rectangles. Simple rectangles can be compressed in a way that makes them actually behave, in a way, like strokes. This saves coding space, making the file smaller. Acrobat's viewer sees them as strokes, and hence the "Enhance Thin Lines" option can affect them... potentially making these "strokes" a bit bolder compared to other letters beside them, depending on the viewing percentage. Turning off the "Enhanced Thin Lines" eliminates this issue by having everything rendered similarly.

[tromboniator]

Thank you, Brad, I appreciate your explanation.

Peter

[Larry G. Schneider]

The only way to cheat on this is to add an extra anchor point to the outlined rectangle. Your milage may vary.

[marks_07]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for clarifying this, very much appreciated.