Embedding fonts: the check that saves a reprint
2 min read
A PDF does not automatically contain the typefaces it uses. It can simply reference them by name and assume the machine opening it has them installed. On your laptop it does. On a printing press it does not.
When that happens the press substitutes a default face. Line breaks move, text overflows its box, and a carefully set card arrives looking like a draft.
Two ways to prevent it
Embed the fonts, which stores the actual character shapes inside the PDF. Or convert text to outlines, which turns every letter into a vector shape so there is no font left to substitute.
Embedding keeps the text selectable and editable, which is better if the file may need small corrections. Outlining is bulletproof but final — you cannot fix a typo afterwards without going back to the original.
How to check before you send
Open the PDF, go to File then Properties, and look at the Fonts tab. Every entry should say "Embedded" or "Embedded Subset". Anything without that label will be substituted.
For anything with a deadline, outline the text. It removes the entire category of problem.
The specifications this applies to
For reference, here is how it works out on the products this comes up on most often.
- Letterheads — 210 × 297 mm finished, 3 mm bleed, 300 DPI minimum, from ₹4 per unit with a minimum of 100.
- Standard Visiting Cards — 89 × 51 mm finished, 3 mm bleed, 300 DPI minimum, from ₹2 per unit with a minimum of 100.
Ordering
Every file is checked automatically before printing, so a mistake in any of this is caught while it can still be corrected rather than after a run is on paper.
Standard delivery is free to every PIN code in India — two working days to a metro, up to twelve to the islands — and prices include GST, so the figure on the product page is the figure charged. Add a GSTIN at checkout and the invoice carries it for input credit.
If something still looks wrong
Preflight catches size, resolution, colour mode and page count automatically, and it errs toward warning rather than refusing — a file that would print acceptably is never blocked just because it is not perfect.
What it cannot judge is whether the design says the right thing. Proofread names, phone numbers and dates with a second pair of eyes before approving, because approval is the point at which the file goes to a press and the cost of a change stops being zero.