Export PDF failed. Cannot embed font Songti

[kileyCFC]

I've made a Chinese document using the font 'Songti'. However, it's not allowing me to export the PDF because of licensing restrictions.

Songti is a system font that came with my macbook. Would there really be a licensing restriction on it?

[Srishti Bali]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about this inconvenience. Please try following these steps and share your observations with us:

• There can be two fonts on system with the same name. Could you please check the Font book for the same?
• Please create a new file with some sample text. Use the same font and let us know if it allows you to Export the file?
• If not, try using a different font and check if it allows to export the file.

Looking forward to your response!

Regards,

Srishti

[Willi Adelberger]

If s font has a flag which does not allow embedding you can export PDFs, but not flairs which force you to embed fonts like PDF/X…
Change the PDF setting so that it does not embed fonts. Open the PDF on the same computer, in Preflight search for outline font and apply this preflight profile. So the font is not live any more, but now you can create a PDF/X…

[Dov Isaacs]

Sorry, but there are potentially big problems with this advice.

If indeed the font in question has restrictions within the font file itself (typically the fsType field of the OS2 table within OpenType - CFF or TTF flavors - or TrueType fonts), you had better check the actual EULA (End User License Agreement) for the actual restrictions on use of the font. Many if not most fonts that prohibit embedding also have clauses in their EULAs that prohibit outlining and or rasterization as “workarounds” to the embedding restrictions. They may or may not provide licenses for such fonts without such restrictions, but be prepared to pay higher licensing fees and potentially royalties for per PDF or per view use of the fonts in question.

Note that I am absolutely not trying to justify such antics on the part of various font foundries. You should always check on a font's licensing terms, including embeddability and royalties on distribution of content using the font (either as embedded or otherwise). Personally, I consider any font that has onerous restrictions either against embedding in PDF (or EPS or ePub) or distribution and use of such documents (requiring royalties) as a useless font. 

[Shanti Arts]

I had this same problem and eventually discovered that Songti SC is the problem. Songti TC is fine. After changing all the Songti SC fonts in my document to Songti TC, the PDF export worked perfectly.