About Fonts 

Do I need to send my fonts with the job?

The general rule is that when you send us application files, you should also send the fonts used in those files. However, when you send us correctly prepared PDF files, the fonts should already be embedded in the PDF and will therefore not need to be sent separately. By "embedded", we mean that the font is contained or included in the PDF file.

There are a number of ways to send fonts. Many applications (such as QuarkXPress, InDesign and Microsoft Publisher) have the ability to "package" or "collect for output", which you can use to gather all of the fonts and other supporting files for easy delivery to a printer. Consult your page layout program's documentation for information about how to use its font-collection feature.

Where are my fonts?

If your program does not allow you to collect fonts automatically, then you have to collect them manually. Their location differs depending on whether you are using a PC or a Mac, and whether or not you are using a font management utility.

On a PC without an installed font management utility, fonts are generally stored in C:/WINDOWS/Fonts. However, be aware that this folder may also contain shortcuts to fonts located in other folders; in that case, you need to locate and send us the original font file, not the shortcut. If you need further advice about this, please email us at techtips@printpelican.com with "Help Locate Fonts" as the subject. On a PC with a font management utility, consult its documentation to find out where it stores fonts. For example, Adobe Type Manager stores PostScript fonts in C:\PSFONTS, and TrueType (TTF) fonts in C:/WINDOWS/Fonts/ATMFolder.

OS X fonts are stored in a number of different locations, for example in Library/Fonts or Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts.

How should I send manually collected fonts?

When you send these collected fonts via email or FTP upload, it is very important to compress them using a utility such as WinZIP on a PC or Stuffit on a Mac prior to sending them. Failure to do this can make the fonts unusable when they reach us. Your Print Pelican CSR will provide you with easy-to-follow FTP upload instructions when you need them.

About font formats...

We accept and work with most common Mac and PC font formats, including PostScript Type 1, TrueType, OpenType and OS X dfont.

Remember that PC and Mac PostScript fonts are composed of two files, not one, and you need to send both of them to us. PC PostScript fonts are composed of .pfb and corresponding .pfm files, while Mac PostScript fonts are composed of printer and screen fonts.

How do I know if my fonts are embedded in my PDF file?

It is possible to create a PDF file in which fonts are not embedded. Such a PDF file is not suitable for professional printing. If you send us a PDF file without embedded fonts, we will not be able to process it and our CSRs will contact you to discuss how to correct the problem before continuing with the job.

The easiest way to make sure that fonts are properly embedded is to download and use our Pelican PDF Kit and refer to our online instructions for preparing PDF files from various applications. All of these methods will properly embed fonts in your PDF file. You can find them by going back to the main TechTips web page.

Also be aware that some fonts cannot be embedded in a PDF file. Each font has a "permission bit" in its source code that is turned on or off by its creator. Fonts with this bit turned off cannot be embedded in a PDF file. Be especially wary of free fonts downloaded from the web. We recommend using programs such as Acrobat Distiller to create PDF files because they can warn you if they encounter fonts that cannot be embedded.

What colors can I use for my fonts?

Theoretically, you can use any color you wish, but there are definite practical limitations when using fonts in a professional printing situation. Paper travels at such high speed through modern printing presses that a certain amount of lateral movement or jitter of the paper is inevitable. If small objects such as type characters are colored using two or more printing inks, chances are that they will be slightly misaligned due to this paper movement. However slight this misalignment may be, the result will be a noticeable blurriness of the text.

To avoid this problem, remember to color body text as 100% black. You may also use 100% of a single Pantone or Process color. The important consideration here is that only one printing ink should be used.

Something you should not do...

If you have used Courier as part of your design, please let your CSR know about it in advance. Because many programs are set to default to Courier when a font is missing, our CSRs will flag any use of Courier and notify you about it.