Participant

Question

Kerning of optical kerned text changes after converting it to Outlines in Illustrator

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
August 3, 2021
5 replies
1409 views

Hello,

I noticed today that when I create outlines on my artboard, the kerning of my text boxes changes. Is this simply because the text box is set to "optical kerning?" Or is it an overal creating outlines quirk? This is a problem for us, as our files before they are set up for print are reviewed and approved by regulatory, so print file Ai's need to be mirror images of the working Ai files!

TIA

{Renamed by MOD}

Performance

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carlosgarro

Community Expert

Hi. Everything looks fine here:

Do you to reset your Preferences?

Let us know.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hm. Not working with PDF/X as output format for print is a workflow of the last century…

PDF/X is an industry standard for 20 years now.

Currently I cannot see the issue with Illustrator 25.4.1 on Windows 10.

Do you have a sample AI file to share? Just put it on Dropbox or a similar service and post the download link.

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi upglobal,

a workaround would be to outline the fonts in a saved PDF from Illustrator.

Acrobat Pro has a function for this:

Category Print Production > Preflight > Acrobat Pro DC 2015 Profiles

Single Fixs pressed > Document > Convert fonts to outlines

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

U

upglobal

Participant

Thanks for you reply Laubender but unfortunately we employ traditional print methods and do not allow our factories to print from a pdf as they do not repro them properly, so we have always insisted on them using the ai file.

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi there,

Sorry about the trouble you are facing. Could you please share a few more details like:

OS and version of Illustrator
Is the issue happening in a specific document or with a particular font? If yes, could you please share the font or a sample document with us? You can upload it to the Creative Cloud (https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/share.html) and share the download link here or via DM.
Did you encounter this issue for the first time, or has it happened before?
Screenshot of the issue. (How does the font look before converting to outlines and after converting to outlines)

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini

U

upglobal

Participant

My team and I have also been experiencing this issue when outlining type for print production, and use the optical kerning setting. It has happened across various brands, so cannot be pinpointed to just one particular typeface and is obviously happening across various macs. Some macs are on Big Sur while others are still on Mojave, but all have the latest version of Illustrator 25.4.1. Attached are a few screen grabs showing the outlined text overlaid on the original 'unoutlined' font. This is a major issue for us as we deal with hundreds of artworks a month and do not have the luxury of preferred printers as we print in various locations worldwide, so fonts have to be outlined for print.