Fonts no longer available

[motjuste101]

In two recent (and ongoing) projects I found that fonts from adobe.fonts.com are no longer available. In this case Aida Book and Gill Sans MT Regular. These were used in a book, so replacing the font may be an option, but means a complete reflow of the text, which has implication for pagination, contents and index. Adobe tells me it is rare that a type foundry recalls a font. Am I just unlucky to have experienced this in a short space of time? Has anyone else had this experience? And, are there any solutions (Adobe Support didn't have any!). Thanks

[Steve Werner · Accepted solution]

It is rare so I guess you were just unlucky.

I would go to My Fonts > Find My Font and find the font that is the closest match or the exact vendor whiich no longer has a contract with Adobe.

https://www.myfonts.com/pages/whatthefont

[motjuste101]

Thanks Steve, I felt misled by Adobe, the us of "retiring" a font feels disingenuous. They must be aware that book production can span over a long time. I will in future pick a font that I can buy outside Adobe. But good to hear that you think this is rare. 

[Barb Binder]

Hi @motjuste101:

I guess I was lucky that the removals did not impact my work.

It sounds like Adobe explained that this wasn't a malicious removal to sabotoge our documents, or even something under their control:

We are occasionally obligated to remove fonts from the font library, typically at the request of the foundry. Removals may happen for a variety of reasons, including when a typeface is no longer available for licensing and distribution or when the font family has significant updates. For example, Alverata PE from TypeTogether was overhauled, retired, and replaced by the family Alverata.

—https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/using/removed-fonts.html

The solution for your existing documents is to license the fonts directly from the foundry (https://www.linotype.com/488/gill-sans-mt-family.html), or in the case of Aida Book, I see it is available as a free download from several locations. Or update your styles to use a different font (and then carefully review the documents because the text will reflow). It's always a good idea to rely on the "based on" feature when you are setting up styles so that you can edit the parent level style(s) and the change will flow through all of the children styles. This will soften the blow, but doesn't eliminate careful review.

Looking ahead, if you find a font available through Adobe, you might want to download it to play with it and then, once you are sure it is the right font, be proactive and deactivate it and license directly through the foundry.

~Barb

[Steve Werner]

@Barb Binder provided the correct answer. Here's what it says on the Adobe website:

https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/using/removed-fonts.html

[brannonb]

I'm encountering this thread a few months after its first posting, while investigating why my InDesign projects are experiencing a significant number of freeze-ups, apparently the result of font non-activation projects.

Like many of you, I'm a book and newspaper designer, with a need to update legacy publications from time to time but also dependent on certain fonts week in, week out -- that suddenly disappear with no explanation, and a costly disruption to our deadlines. Whatever notification Adobe ever promised users they would provide if a font were discontinued doesn't seem to happen.   

Searching the Adobe Fonts page for a longtime favorite, Kepler, today brought up only a blank page.  And IMHO, Adobe Support has been useless. I understand that software companies don't always have control over the decisions made by foundries. But couldn't they at least keep loyal users in the loop?

Anyone else put out with Adobe's cavalier treatment of designers who have been, like me, users (and teachers) since Day One?  And to reply to the above frustrated inquirer, suddenly the problem does NOT seem "rare."

[brannonb]

I'm adding to my own post from a few minutes ago, above.

In the time it took for me to write it, the Adobe Fonts page DID load with information about the Kepler font. But why the costly delay, and why the spinning wheel in the font activation process in INDD? If Adobe's problem is more related to the reactivation issue following Type 1 fonts discontinuation, I'm not clear why the process is taking so long that it hangs up when users are trying to save or package projects. Any insights?

[rob day]

I'm not clear why the process is taking so long that it hangs up when users are trying to save or package projects. Any insights?

In case the process isn’t clear, the cloud based subscription fonts do actually have a local copy, which is not visible in the user’s OS font folders. On OSX the path to the install folder with the hidden cloud fonts is:

Users⁩ ▸ username ▸ ⁨Library⁩ ▸ ⁨Application Support⁩ ▸ ⁨Adobe⁩ ▸ ⁨CoreSync⁩ ▸ ⁨plugins⁩ ▸ ⁨livetype⁩

So the delay would be the time it takes to download, install and activate the font. You would have to weigh that inconvenience against the extra cost of purchasing fonts, and permanently installing them in one of your system’s font folders where they would always be active. Personally I find the value of the Adobe Type library worth the wait times.

Also, Adobe doesn’t own all of the Adobe Type library—if a foundry like Emigre decides to end the relationship, the font Mrs Eaves isn’t going to be available at Adobe Type, but you would still have the option to purchase it from Emigre.