Word font misrendered when saving/printing to PDF
Thread poster: Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 17:09
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Mar 11, 2021

OK, so after all these years I still get some "never happened before" moments.

I have a document in Word that looks like this:

1

The font is Bahnschrift Light, except for the bold text, which is in Bahnschrift. When I convert to PDF it looks quite different:

2

The "light" quality is gone, and there's no distinction between bold and non-bold.

To generate the PDF I tried (1) save as PDF from Word, (2) print as PDF from word, (3) export to PDF from OpenOffice, (4) convert .docx to PDF online. Nothing helped.

I tried to play around with true-type and other font options when saving/printing, to no avail.

It's not a matter of screen rendering either. Zooming in/out or saving back to Word confirm the issue.

Any ideas?


 
MollyRose
MollyRose  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:09
English to Spanish
+ ...
try a similar font Mar 11, 2021

Maybe change the font in Word to something that looks similar and then export to pdf. It looks like Adobe doesn´t recognize the specific font you are using.

 
3089491 (X)
3089491 (X)  Identity Verified
Luxembourg
Local time: 17:09
Interesting technical issue Mar 11, 2021

Very intriguing, indeed...

The solution would seem to be embedding (with the side effect of increasing file size).


 
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 17:09
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
  Mar 11, 2021

Molly's suggestion is not practicable, nor particularly acute (you think I wouldn't use a stupid Calibri light if I could?), Mihai's is interesting but still not working.

I tried as suggested here: https://www.printivity.com/insights/2020/09/13/how-to-embed-fonts-in-pdfs/

It says "a font can only be embedded if it contains a setting by t
... See more
Molly's suggestion is not practicable, nor particularly acute (you think I wouldn't use a stupid Calibri light if I could?), Mihai's is interesting but still not working.

I tried as suggested here: https://www.printivity.com/insights/2020/09/13/how-to-embed-fonts-in-pdfs/

It says "a font can only be embedded if it contains a setting by the font vendor that permits it to be embedded" though, so that might be the reason.

Or maybe not... the font in the PDF *is* Bahnschrift after all, easily recognizable by the straight "chisel"-shaped commas and apostrophes, it's just that the light and bold qualities are lost.

Anyway, I already sent the .docx to the client and they haven't asked for a PDF, so I kinda got away with it.

At this point it's just a matter of curiosity/learning.
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Giuliana Maltempo
Giuliana Maltempo
Argentina
Local time: 13:09
Member (2023)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Bug Mar 11, 2021

I found this, this thread. Hope it helps.

Reports on the internet mention often bugs in Microsoft’s Bahnschrift (which is not even their own design, just their new implementation of it).


Then one user suggests using the "Microsoft Print to PDF" option. I made a try on my computer and it did work. I recommend using Bahnschrift bold i
... See more
I found this, this thread. Hope it helps.

Reports on the internet mention often bugs in Microsoft’s Bahnschrift (which is not even their own design, just their new implementation of it).


Then one user suggests using the "Microsoft Print to PDF" option. I made a try on my computer and it did work. I recommend using Bahnschrift bold instead of regular for better results.
Collapse


 
3089491 (X)
3089491 (X)  Identity Verified
Luxembourg
Local time: 17:09
Different approach Mar 11, 2021

You might want to inform the client, though.

A different approach, which might be worth giving a try is: embed in Word, and then print.

Disclaimer: this is not my website, but the information seems to be provided in good faith.
https://www.howtogeek.com/106681/how-to-embed-fonts-in-a-microsoft-word-document/


 
Gerard de Noord
Gerard de Noord  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 17:09
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Over here it seems to work Mar 12, 2021

Windows 10
Word 365

Screenshot (91)

Cheers,
Gerard


 
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 17:09
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Microsoft Print to PDF Mar 12, 2021

Giuliana's suggestion worked, with Microsoft Print to PDF, which is listed among the "printers" in the print dialogue.

Now I feel stupid for not trying it before... well, thanks a bunch! (To all)


 
MollyRose
MollyRose  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:09
English to Spanish
+ ...
to Daniel Mar 12, 2021

I was not trying to insult you with my suggestion. That is just what I would have done if I couldn´t find a better solution.

 


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Word font misrendered when saving/printing to PDF






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