Announcement – Adobe Ends Support for Type 1 Fonts for Content Editing & Creation

[Dov Isaacs]

Adobe has announced its intention to end support for Type 1 fonts in January 2023. The full announcement may be found at Type 1 Font Announcement. We strongly recommend that any user of Adobe Creative Cloud applications as well as Adobe FrameMaker read this announcement and plan accordingly.

While you can continue using Type 1 fonts until January 2023, we encourage you to explore alternative fonts in the interim so that you can make a smooth transition when support for these fonts is removed.

Some further considerations and clarifications:

(1)    Adobe has already deprecated support for Type 1 fonts in Photoshop in 2021. Microsoft totally eliminated support for Type 1 fonts in Microsoft Office on Windows a number of years ago.

(2)    Type 1 fonts are an integral part of the PostScript and PDF specifications . Neither PostScript nor PDF are affected by this announcement. PostScript, Adobe PDF Print Engine, and Adobe Embedded Print Engine-based RIPs/DFEs and printers will by definition continue to support Type 1 fonts.

(3)    Adobe PDF-based products including Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat Standard, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and the Adobe Mobile Readers (iOS and Android) will continue to support the display, printing, and text editing of PDF files using Type 1 fonts. This is required by the ISO PDF specification.

(4)    Even with the deprecation of Type 1 font support in applications such as InDesign, Illustrator, and FrameMaker in January 2023, you will still be able to place EPS and PDF content with embedded Type 1 fonts into these application documents and subsequently be able to display, print, and export PDF content from same.

(5)    The Adobe Fonts service never has supported Type 1 fonts in any manner whatsoever. Thus, if you are using fonts from Adobe Fonts, you are not affected at all by this announcement!

(6)    The announcement applies strictly to new releases beginning in January 2023. It does not affect support for Type 1 fonts in earlier releases. Thus, you can continue to use Type 1 fonts for editing legacy documents after January 2023. Of course, given the continual incompatible operating system updates by Apple for MacOS and increasingly by Microsoft for Windows, the ability to run these older versions may be limited as time goes on. Furthermore, it is possible that Apple and Microsoft may also discontinue support for Type 1 fonts in the future.

The  bottom line is that we are encouraging users of Adobe products to examine existing source documents (i.e., not PDF or EPS with embedded fonts) for use of Type 1 fonts and make appropriate formatting updates as soon as possible to minimize problems beginning in January 2023.

[adamtwar]

---

@Joan24767899qssl wrote:

Well then I'm totally confused because when I open them (to place in a project) I get a message that they will not be supported as of 2023...and have read that when a file is opened the Missing Font window will not show anything at all, which I think is pretty awful. Some of my job pdfs go back some years and I have to update them very periodically. I don't have record of 20 years of what was purchased from who and when to go back and get some kind of update. Over decades I've had several computers that the fonts have migrated through. Not a happy customer at all.

---

To work with legacy apps and files, I myself maintain a few virtual machines with Microsoft Windows. Windows is less convenient for me to work on a daily basis but is legendary in terms of legacy support. I have Windows 98 with apps that are really ancient but are sometimes still useful, then Windows XP and 7 (though I only use 7), and Windows 12. I have older Adobe apps there, also with some InDesign, Acrobat & Illustrator plugins that no longer work in new apps, and which are no longer developed. I also have macOS 12.6 — all in VMWare Fusion. 

I consider these »backups«, but such that are bootable and work, and are even easily migrated to a new machine.

But when it comes to Type 1 fonts alone — apps like TransType can help. 

[Abambo]

Again: After 25 years of supporting the legacy Type 1 fonts after OTF emerged as the new standard, Adobe decided to pull the plug and drop support for those fonts. All Type 1 fonts are now available in OTF format, and you should make sure that your documents change to those fonts. For any application that uses Type 1 Fonts and that need to be maintained, you should keep the current version of your programs installed on your computer. But there is no reason not to change gradually to OTF fonts, when you are working on legacy documents. 

It is true, that if you made a huge invest in fonts, and you are using them, you will be unhappy with this. But it will also be an opportunity to do a rebranding with new and fresh fonts. There are plenty of fonts available.

To put now the blame on Adobe would be unfair, because many have abondoned the Type 1 fonts by now, and simply the testing for each new version of a program costs a fortune. That money is better invested for other projects.

I wouldn't wait until the last minute...

[Kathleen22662965p9e0]

This is an outrage. Postscript and the resulting Type 1 font standard is what really put Adobe in business. Prior to that, the general design community had only bitmap typefaces, unacceptable for professional work. Then there is the money; years of investing in Type 1 fonts. Even worse, thousands of portfolio pieces dependent on this standard. Sometimes those pieces need to be updated. Portfolio pieces are a large part for designers and art directors to get jobs. And now, in the same year, Adobe is dropping support for PANTONE colors? This is another industry standard relied on for years. It's as if Adobe executives suddenly have no regard for customers who have put them in those highly paid positions.

[Abambo]

Did anyone tell you that Adobe stopped issuing new Type 1 fonts 25 years ago?

This is an outrage. Postscript and the resulting Type 1 font standard is what really put Adobe in business.

By @Kathleen22662965p9e0

I doubt that, but as you are there: The True Type standard has been developed by Microsoft and Apple to counter the quasi Type 1 vector font monopoly from Adobe. There is always competition. 😉

Open Type fonts address some problems inherent to Type 1 fonts:

• Number of characters that a font file can include; you see Type 1 fonts for different language regions!
• Several languages require a huge number of characters (Chinese, for example). With an OTF CFF (successor of Type 1) you can include in the same font file Chinese (TC and SC), Japanese and Korean.

Open Type fonts also address problems inherent to TTF fonts, notably exchangeability between macOS and Windows computers.

Open type fonts are an evolution of the computer font technologies. I wonder why you do not find it outrageous, not to support the different bitmap font standards? I got a nice collection with my first HP inkjet printer a couple of decades ago.

 And now, in the same year, Adobe is dropping support for PANTONE colors? This is another industry standard relied on for years. It's as if Adobe executives suddenly have no regard for customers who have put them in those highly paid positions.

By @Kathleen22662965p9e0

Maybe the drop of PANTONE colours is not related to this. Pantone is a company making money from ink that they sold to industrial printers. That business broke away with the arrival of digital printing. So, what does a company do when it's business breaks away? It looks for new business opportunities. So, Pantone sells a product, of inferior quality according to some specialists, that does what the PANTONE colour codes did for free* in the Adobe products. I'm certain that Adobe would have wanted to continue the licensing deal with Adobe, for part of their monthly revenue. And I'm convinced that the part asked was higher than what Adobe was prepared to pay.

*I'm convinced that Pantone granted a licence for free as long as the printers paid for the ink.

[Graydesigns]

Hi everyone, 

I just wanted to get some font advice if that is possible. I have been a graphic designer for 25 years now so have lots of fonts, so a bit stressed about the new Adobe Changes for 2023.

• My first question is in my Suitcase Fusion I can see fronts labels as (OpenType - TT) and (OpenType PS) I’m confused as to why there is a TT and PS, I know that stands for TrueType and PostScript. Would both be acceptable for Adobe with the new 2023 rules or should I just stick with OpenType TT?

• My second question is, are Truetype fonts ok re the change going forward with Adobe or should I stick with OpenType?

Thank you so much, I really appreciate any advice, I run a graphic design business from home so a bit stressed about making sure I make the right decision with the fonts going forward.

Cheers

Andrew 

[JoBo]

As long as you don't use Type 1 fonts you will be ok. OpenType PS are not Type 1. But try to use OpenType even though TT are ok as well...for the moment.

[Graydesigns]

Thank you 🙂

[Joan24767899qssl]

I'm in the same place as you although I think some of my files go back longer. Hopefully, going slowly, this will all work out!

[amy durocher · Accepted solution]

Hi Andrew,

Adobe will continue to support OpenType TT and OpenType PS fonts. Technically, the two formats are OpenType TTF and OpenType CFF. See this link for more details https://community.adobe.com/t5/adobe-fonts-discussions/opentype-ps-fonts-are-identified-as-type-1-fo....

Non-OpenType TrueType fonts will still be supported by Adobe. OpenType TT includes extensions to the TrueType font format and both formats are currently supported by Adobe.

The Adobe legacy Type 1 font format is the one that is being deprecated. In the font menu, these will normally appear with a red 'a' as the Type icon. Here is the link to the announcement: https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/kb/postscript-type-1-fonts-end-of-support.html.

I hope this answers your questions. Thank you for your continued support of Adobe and our products.

[Graydesigns]

Thank you so much, this was really helpful, i'm really greateful.

[Pip278706691ztr]

I hope someone can help clarify for me:

(4)    Even with the deprecation of Type 1 font support in [...] FrameMaker in January 2023, you will still be able to place EPS and PDF content with embedded Type 1 fonts into these application documents and subsequently be able to display, print, and export PDF content from same.

(6)    The announcement applies strictly to new releases beginning in January 2023. It does not affect support for Type 1 fonts in earlier releases. Thus, you can continue to use Type 1 fonts for editing legacy documents after January 2023. [...]

So, if I have and use FrameMaker 2019, and I use Type 1 fonts such as Helvetica,

a) will old documents with Type 1 fonts in Frame continue to function, as "legacy", and

b) if I create new documents, but in Frame 2019, will they also continue to function because it's not a new release, it's good ol' Frame 2019?

Hope this makes sense - having a hard time finding an answer to which part applies to my situation.

Thanks for any assitance you can offer!