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tjdickinson
Inspiring
January 25, 2018
Answered

Icon glyphs stretch out when PDF is printed

  • January 25, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 2145 views

Hello,

I have created a document in InDesign CC 2018, and I exported it to PDF. The main text uses a Google Font, and that all prints correctly. I have some icon glyphs that are part of a font that I created (or, rather, compiled). In ID and on-screen in the PDF, they look fine. When I print the document, however, some of the glyphs, sometimes, get all messed up. And it's not consistent between files. I printed 6 versions of essentially the same file (only some personal information was changed on the first couple pages, otherwise the rest of the document, including the messed‑up glyphs, is exactly the same in every file). A glyph might render properly in one copy of the file, but not in another copy. Here's an image comparing what it should look like to what it does look like: Dropbox - Printing-Problems-Examples.jpg (the image is too tall to insert directly). But again, take, for example, the last set of pictures in the attached jpg: on the printed copy I still have in‑hand, the icons of the folders are terribly distorted. But in a version that someone else has, they look perfectly fine.

Thank you in advance for whatever help you can proffer.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer tjdickinson

tjdickinson  wrote

… So, we're making progress...any other suggestions?

No suggestions right now, but looking again into your options with Acrobat Preflight.

Warning: I never tested this particular feature!

Maybe it will work if you set:

Error
A font is used which is
in this list

> List all fonts in the document that should not be converted to outline

Hm…
I have to leave the office right now. Hope, that I find the time to come back to you tomorrow.

Regards,
Uwe


Thanks for the idea, Uwe!

Unfortunately, it didn't work...

But! I figured out how to select only the font I need. The steps for this fix are below.

But first one remaining question. I followed your suggestion to create a droplet. I made the droplet with the fixup profile I created, and I saved the .exe. But when I run the .exe, it just brings me to the edit droplet window, with the options to "save" and "cancel". I'm not sure how to run the droplet for all the documents.

Here are the steps for solving the primary issue of the printing problem of certain fonts:

1. In Acrobat DC, click on Tools >> Optimize PDF >> Preflight.

2. Under PDF Fixups, find "Convert fonts to outlines". Click "Edit".

3. Select "Convert fonts to outlines" in the panel on the left, and underneath the panel, click on the second button to duplicate the profile. Name it.

4. Click the arrow next to the name to open details of the profile. Choose "Custom fixups".

5. In the center panel, select the "Convert fonts to outlines" fixup, and click "duplicate", the second button below the field. Name the duplicate.

6. In the center panel, select the original "Convert fonts to outlines" fixup, and click the fourth button below to remove it from the profile.

7. Select the duplicate "Convert fonts to outlines" (or whatever you named it), and then click the third button to edit it.

8. It should already have "Document" and "Convert fonts to outlines" selected. In the bottom‑right pane, next to "Apply to:" click the button with a + to add a new parameter. Give it a name in the "When check fires, report as:" field.

9. In the Group, choose "Font". In the Property, choose "Base font name". Click "Add".

10. In the frame below (labeled "Text") type the PostScript name of the font you want to outline. Use the restrictions from the drop‑down list as needed.

11. Other properties can be added if necessary to narrow or broaden the selection.

12. Click "Ok". Click "Ok". Click "Save" then "Ok".

13. You should be back in the preflight menu. Make sure your duplicate profile is selected, then click "Analyze and fix" in the bottom right corner. You will be prompted to save the document with a new name, and then the preflight will run automatically, applying the fixup to your document.

1 reply

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 25, 2018

Hi,

how did you do the icons eaxctly?
What kind of font is this? OTF ? What tool did you use to compile it?

Did you check the font information in your PDF with Acrobat Pro DC?

Detail information with Acrobat's Preflight > Browse Internal Structure of All Document Fonts…

You can try the following test:

Export as PostScript Level 3 EPS and distill that to PDF. Include all fonts.

Can you see the same problems when you open the PDF in Acrobat Pro DC ?

Regards,
Uwe

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 25, 2018

And another question:

What is the app you are printing from?
And what is your printer?

From Acrobat or Acrobat Reader:

Can you see anything wrong if you choose:

Print as Image ?

Regards,
Uwe

L
Community Expert
LaubenderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 26, 2018

Thanks for your quick reply!

Following your advice, and borrowing from a helpful tutorial from InDesign Secrets, I think I'll try going the route of converting text to outlines in InDesign using the transparency flattener, and putting a small transparent object at the inside margin where the hole punch will be. According to David Blatner, when I export the documents to PDF, the text will be converted to outlines while preserving underlines etc. That should hopefully be easier and faster than applying the preflight stages to each of 20 documents after exporting. I'll report back as to whether or not it works.

Thanks again!


Believe me, it's better to do converting text to outlines with Acrobat Pro DC.

You could do a Droplet in Acrobat Pro to apply the Fixup to all PDF files in a folder and also define an output folder for converted PDFs. Just look for "Droplet" in the Options of Preflight:

Transparency flattening is not necessary and could introduce other problems like stitching artefacts with images if you are unlucky. I'd prefer the Acrobat Pro method…

Regards,
Uwe

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