Typeface Font Manager font embedding issue in Illustrator AI files

[Darko66]

In looking for a new font manager I tried a trial of Typeface, but ran into an odd problem and wondering if anyone is successfully using it with Illustrator. I had the same issue with both the 2023 and 2024 versions of Illustrator. Typeface is for MacOS only. I'm running Sonoma.

The problem arises when Typeface auto-activates fonts. As I understand it, Typeface only makes the auto-activated fonts available for Illustrator and not system-wide. When I opened an Illustrator file, the fonts would be activated and all would look good in Illustrator, but when I save it as an "ai" file (PDF compatible), the fonts weren't embedding correctly. If I placed the "ai" file in InDesign, it was noticeable that some of the fonts were substituted. If I opened the "ai" file in Acrobat it was also clear that the fonts weren't correct, however Acrobat implied they were embedded in document properties. If I save the file as a PDF instead of "ai", the fonts embed fine. Also, if I manually activated the fonts wth Typeface instead of letting them be auto-activated, the fonts embed correctly in the "ai" file. 

In discussions with Typeface support, it appeared the issue was caused by the permission bits for the specific fonts. Fonts that were "Unrestricted" obvously worked fine, but I had issues primarily with fonts that were "Preview and Print". Of course, as mentioned, it's only when the fonts are auto-activated. A workaround, I suppose would be to save everything as PDF.

Anyway, I was going to purchase the app, but this problem made it unworkable for me. I'm trying other apps, but haven't been all that impressed with them. Although, I haven't had this problem with any other font manager. So, just wondering if anyone is successfully using Typeface and/or if they've also experienced this issue.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Darko66,

Thanks for reaching out. While there are no fonts in the Adobe Type Library with this permission, some third-party font foundries may set their fonts to “no embedding” or prohibit embedding through their end-user license agreement.

As a workaround, you can Convert Text to Outlines using Illustrator.

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[Darko66]

Thanks for the response. I am aware of "no embedding" fonts, but that was not the type of font I was having an issue with. My issue seems to be specific to the font manager app called "Typeface" when auto-activating fonts with "Print and Preview" permissions and saving the file as ".ai" (with Create PDF compatible file selected). The issue appears to be specific to that particular font manager app and is likely an incompatability with it and Illustrator. I did not have an issue with fonts from the Adobe Fonts service because they aren't auto-activated by the font manager, but did have issue with older **scam email address** foundry fonts (e.g. Helvetica Neue LT Std).

I was just looking to see if anyone in the community was successfully using the app in regards to this problem.

[Darko66]

for some reason it replaced "Adobe Systems" which I had as one word with "scam email address". Odd.