Discontinuation of Adobe Pro Type 1 fonts in InDesign

[Tom2604280896iw]

I am a book designer working on a 200-page project set in Adobe Caslon Pro with titles and pull-quotes set in Atsuka Montreal. Apparently these are Type 1 fonts which Adobe plans to stop supporting in January. This is catastrophic to my project as each line is individually kerned. Does Adobe understand how devastating this will be to book designers who have large projects in progress?

My first question to the forum is: WHY is Adobe no longer supporting an ADOBE PRO font? 
My second question is: Will they replace these fonts with identical open source fonts?

My third question is: If Adobe does NOT replace these fonts, how do I find identical fonts to take their place?

My contact info is: (PII removed by moderator)

Thank you,

Tom Joyce

[Laubender]

Hi @Tom2604280896iw ,

if your current version of InDesign still supports the Type 1 version of Adobe Caslon Pro and you want to bundle your document with that exact same version, assumed InDesign 2022, do not use a newer version of InDesign with that project. E.g. InDesign 2023. Stick with InDesign 2022 and you should good to go.

I cannot answer the other questions. I'm just a user like you.

I'm not an Adobe employee who can speak on behalf of Adobe.

NOTE: The OTF version of Adobe Caslon Pro was part of Adobe Font Folio and this OTF version was provided by Adobe for the last 18 to 20 years now. Unfortunately Adobe recently discontinued Adobe Font Folio.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

[rob day]

Apparently these are Type 1 fonts which Adobe plans to stop supporting in January.

Hi @Tom2604280896iw , AdobeCaslonPro is not a Type 1 font—the FontAgent font manager app lists it as OpenType with Postscript outline, not Type 1. All of the OpenType fonts in my library are listed this way:

The InDesign default font MinionPro is the same:

FontAgent lists Type 1 fonts as Type 1. EurekaSans is an example of a Type 1 font that future versions of InDesign will no longer support.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse · Accepted solution]

Adobe Caslon Pro has always been OpenType. (The clue is the word "Pro" as OpenType made it possible to add many more glyphs than was possible in old Type 1 format). Yes, it is a Postcript-flavoured OpenType so it will still list as "OpenType Type 1" in your InDesign document, as Postscript outlines ARE Type 1. This is normal. Your document is fine.

The confusion comes here: what is ending is support for the old Type 1 font file format, which on Mac meant having separate Screen font suitcases and Outline font files, and on PC, seperate .pfm and .pfb files. This was confusing and not cross-platform, and only had room for a limited glyph set, so OpenType has combined them into a single file, with the ability to have many more glyphs.

As far as the other font you mention, it may be a matter of finding an updated OTF or TrueType version. You could also contact the font vendor you bought it from, but based on a search, it's a cheap font so buying it again is not going to cost you more than a couple of beers. OR, you can invest in a font conversion program (e.g. TransType) but that would cost you many times more than simply buying that font again.

[Laubender]

Hi Brad and Rob,

looked up an old Adobe Font Folio from 2004, I think.

Adobe Caslon Pro is there as an OpenType font.

There is no Type 1 font listed for Adobe Caslon. And there never was perhaps.

( Sorry, I did not realize this. )

All in all Tom Joyce should be good to go with his Adobe Caslon Pro font files installed.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Adobe Caslon (and its extension Adobe Caslon Expert) did indeed exist in Type 1 (I have it in my archives), just not as the Pro version, which was OTF since 2000.

[Tom2604280896iw]

Thank you Brad. This is great information and reassuring.

Best,

Tom

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

The one caveat I have for you in general is that some of the font vendors fiddled and finessed some font designs when they created new OTF Pro versions. In these cases, there will be some reflow when replacing old Type 1 with OTF Type 1, but this doesn't apply in your case, since you've been otf with Caslon Pro from the get go.

[Derek Cross]

I recently asked MyFonts.com to clarify the nomenclature of OpenType fonts, and this was their useful reply, which I thought Forum members would be interested in seeing:

There are TWO types of OpenType:

A. TrueType-flavoured OpenTypes (ending with .ttf)

B. PostScript-flavoured OpenTypes (ending with .otf)

Both OpenType versions work on Mac as well as on PC, and both OpenType versions work flawlessly with OpenType-savvy applications.

The differences become obvious when using old applications: old Windows applications which can only handle TrueType are able to work with TrueType-flavoured OpenTypes, since they can access the first 255 characters, which are the basic ones.

The PostScript-flavoured OpenTypes work vice versa - they are recognized by old Mac applications which can only handle PostScript. Since Mac software does not take into consideration the ending of the file, it was possible to give the PostScript-flavoured OpenTypes a new ending (.otf). But Windows applications identify a software by its ending, therefore TrueType-flavoured OpenTypes need to have the same ending as TrueTypes.

However, when you open the file by clicking on it, you will definitely see that it is OpenType, and your operating system will also identify it as such.

– MyFonts

[Bill Silbert]

As everybody else has said the fonts that you are using are Open Type Fonts. I am wondering why you thought that the fonts were Postscript Type 1. The warnings that have been popping up for the last couple of years as to the discontinuation of the old fonts can actually pop up if perhaps there was at some time a Type 1 font used in the document which may have left either a blank space or unused paragraph return that is still reading as the old font. You can check this by going into Find/Replace Font under the Font menu and see if there is a listing for any fonts other than the ones you actually want in the file. If there are then globally change those to the Open type versions.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

"I am wondering why you thought that the fonts were Postscript Type 1."

I think it's because InDesign lists them as OpenType Type 1 in the Font Lists. The fact it even mentions Type 1 is throwing people off into an unnecessary panic. I wish Adobe had been clearer about this, but here we are.

 

[Peter Spier]

And we don't know which version the OP is using. There was a bug not that long ago that triggered the Type 1 warning with OT/T1 fonts. Lots of panicked posted a few months back.

[withwords]

First Pantone colors. Now fonts. Will letters and numbers be ransomed next?

[rob day]

The missing Pantone libraries are easily fixed—they are no longer automatically installed, but you can install them yourself. You can get them from an older version’s application folder and move them into the new version’s Swatch Libraries folder located here:

Applications⁩ ▸ ⁨Adobe InDesign 20XX⁩ ▸ ⁨Presets⁩ ▸ ⁨Swatch Libraries⁩

or download the .acb files from here:

https://github.com/Autocrit/Pantone-color-libraries

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Hi @withwords, some background details...

In 2000 (23 years ago), the entire computer industry agreed to phase out PostScript Type 1 fonts, as well as old TrueType fonts, and move to Unicode/OpenType fonts across all operating systems, programs, websites, everything everywhere.

It wasn't just Adobe. It was all software developers.

And now 23 years after than announcement, PostScript fonts have been formally dropped by Adobe programs.

Plus, for the past 2 years or so, InDesign has popped up messages warning about the impending end of PostScript fonts.

This can be a hardship for those who depend upon a certain PostScript font, but there are most likely OpenType versions of it from one of our foundries. I haven't yet not found an OpenType substitute in 20+ years.

Reread the above posts about the benefits to us designers and publishers about Unicode/OpenType fonts. They allow our projects to work for press/print jobs as well as websites, EPUBs, and PDFs for the web. They also allow us to have multiple languages, including native/aboriginal dialects, so that our projects can communicate to people worldwide.

There are so many benefits to us designers — like staying gainfully employed and being able to design for multiple technologies — and I'm definitely not missing my PostScript fonts one iota.

PostScript fonts are the Model T Ford of publishing tech; both were revolutionary when they were first released and they dramatically changed the way we live, either hauling our butts from point A to point B, or publishing information.

I need newer tech to do my job today. My grandfather's Model T was donated to a museum eons ago, and my PostScript fonts were premanently archived a few years ago.