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Font problem while converting from PDF to PDF/A

Balaji MG
Registered: Jul 6 2010
Posts: 22

Hi,
 
I have a PDF with Type 1 (CID) font embedded. I have tried to export this PDF to PDF/A, but it is not exported. Also used "Preflight" option, but no use. It showing CID font error.
 
Finally I tried converting the PDF to PS then PS to PDF/A. It is converted. But the the problem is, if i copy the text (which ever used the Type 1 CID font) from PDF and pasted to notepad, it is displayed as junk characters(boxes).
 
Is there any option to convert PDF to PDF/A without using PS?
 
Thanks in advance...
 
Balaji

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 8.0, Windows
KellyMcC
Acrobat 9ExpertTeam
Registered: Jul 11 2011
Posts: 389
Balaji,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. What is the originating application? CID fonts can often be outlined (if your app has that feature). If the Font vendor put a restriction on Embedding, there isn't much else you can do. More details on Embedding CID Fonts (this information is dated, but does give a good overview):
http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/font/pdfs/5641.CID_Embed.pdf

"When embedded, a double-byte font is both subsetted and compacted. Only the outlines of the characters actually used in the PDF document are included"

On another note, I don't believe Notepad will support CID fonts at all. They are far to complex for that little program to handle.

We may be able to get your file to PDF/A with different PDF settings. What joboptions are you using when you create the PDF, and what method are you using to create it? Example:

File > Print to the Adobe PDF Printer
File > Export (from InDesign)
Convert to Adobe PDF in Microsoft Office (PDF Maker)



Kelly McCathran
Adobe Community Expert
Certified Technical Trainer+

Balaji MG
Registered: Jul 6 2010
Posts: 22
Hello Kelly,

Thanks for your valuable response.

I have checked the properties of the PDF and the Application field is empty.
Below are the options I have used to convert the PDF to PDF/A (Input is PDF file),

1. File -> Export -> PDF/A
2. Advanced -> Preflight -> PDF/A Compliance -> Convert to PDF/A-1b (sRGB)I am not able to convert to PDF/A from the above 2 options. So the final option i used is,

3. File -> Export -> PostScript -> PostScript, I will get the output as .ps file.
Then I have opened this .ps file to Acrobat Distiller. I have set the Distiller settings as "PDF/A-1b:2005(RGB)"
So in this method I have regenerated the PDF as PDF/A.

In acrobat all the text are displaying correctly. but if i copy and paste it into the word document (I ignored the Notepad as per your suggestions), which ever text used the Type 1 (CID) font is displaying as boxes.

Also I have reviewed the URL given by you and understand some basic thing about CID font. Thanks for this info.

But some of the third party tools are converting PDF/A without any font issues!!. How this is possible and why it is not possible in Acrobat professional?

Can you please guide me to convert from PDF to PDF/A using Acrobat pro.

Thank you very much.

Balaji

KellyMcC
Acrobat 9ExpertTeam
Registered: Jul 11 2011
Posts: 389
Balaji,

So, are you not creating the original PDF? You say the Application field is Empty, do you know where these files are originating? I can give you more to try once I know. Also, could you email me one of the PDFs? [email protected]

Kelly McCathran
Adobe Community Expert
Certified Technical Trainer+