Re: (Shlomo) Font mangling (FrameMaker -> PDF)

[Jay Smith <jay@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Shlomo,

As usual, I broke my rule and wrote before reading.  I just discovered
your response & post on this subject.  Sorry to have not included
acknowledgment of your very helpful contribution.  Thank you.

As I have just posted to Framers 1+2 and Acrobat, the problem WAS solved
by making the font FILE name conform to an 8.3 standard.  However, that
post does ask some further questions and I would appreciate any comment
on those.

You also brought up another very good point, as follows:

> In any case, I think that it might not be  a good idea to change
> the original font - unless you change the font name and assign it a
> unique ID; there might be other undesired side-effects, not mentioning
> legal aspects.

This is important information to point out.  1) I did have the proper
permission to alter the original source font, from the foundry.  2) I
did assign it both different FILE and FONT NAMES.  3) I did assign it a
unique id -- we run in the Custom range 400,000-499,999.

I use FontLab 3.00F (there should be a newer version out by now).  The
FontLab folks have been extremely helpful and supportive -- the the
program is truly outstanding.  (No I don't own stock in the company.)

Thanks.

Jay


Shlomo Perets wrote:
> 
> Jay,
> 
> You wrote:
> >I have a document that when I Distill to PDF prints out fine, but ONE
> >FONT looks HORRID on-screen in PDF/Acrobat; chunks missing out of
> >characters, etc.  At the maximum 800% magnification in Acrobat Exchange,
> >the characters in *problem font*  are very pixelated, though reasonably
> >shaped.  However, a non-problem font is very smooth and not pixelated.
> >
> >Details: 1) Document Created in FrameMaker 556 Win95/PC.  Distiller
> >3.01, using Distiller Assistant "driver".  Acrobat Exchange 3.01.  ATM
> >4.0 Deluxe used to install and manage fonts.  Distiller Job Options have
> >been tweaked every which way; with and without font compression, etc.,
> >with the psfonts folder properly identified, etc., etc.; with full
> >embedding, etc.
> >
> >The PROBLEM FONT:  The problem font is a Palatino-type font that I have
> >modified to replace the shapes of a couple little-used characters with
> >special characters I needed.  Also adjusted the kerning, etc.  This work
> >was done with FontLab ...
> 
> >When, in Acrobat, I look at File, Document Info, Fonts...
> >  HOWEVER, The next 8 lines say...
> >     "Original Font" names of "T1", "T2", "T3", etc. (which are
> >         certainly not my font's names)
> >     "Type" is Type 3 (not 1)
> >     "Encoding" is Custom
> >     "Used Font" names are same: T1, T2, T3, etc.
> >     "Encoding" again is Custom
> >     "Type" is again Type 3 (not 1)
> >  This is the one that looks terrible.
> >
> >Could this be related to the problem?  And what could be causing it?
> 
> Yes, Type 3 bitmap fonts are displayed poorly (low quality, slow).
> In Acrobat 3 viewers, the letters' rectangles are  displayed as
> solid white  rectangles when your background is non-white.
> The PDF file size is in most cases larger than it should be.
> Printed output should be fine, though, when outputting to a high-
> resolution printer.
> 
> The problem of valid Type 1 fonts converted to Type 3 fonts is not
> very rare on Windows NT; it is less common on Windows 95/98. It seems
> to be related to faulty interaction between the printer driver and
> ATM. Changing distilling parameters will have no effect. To make
> things worse, the problem is typically not repeatable on other
> computers.
> 
> Unfortunately, when this nasty problem chooses to strike, there
> is no real solution/workaround with any predictable rate of success.
> You can try a number of (time-consuming) operations, such as
> reinstalling ATM and the PS driver, installing again in different order;
> disable ATM; use different fonts; use different PS drivers; install
> the latest OS service release; re-install the operating system;
> you can spend hours/days, nothing guaranteed...
> 
> Luckily, in your case the problem seems to affect only one font, which
> you edited. I recommend reverting to the original Type 1 Palatino
> font; consider inserting the two characters you need in a custom font
> - then even if the font is transformed to a Type 3 font, it will not
> affect all of your text.
> 
> In any case, I think that it might not be  a good idea to change
> the original font - unless you change the font name and assign it a
> unique ID; there might be other undesired side-effects, not mentioning
> legal aspects.
> 
> Even though this is not related to the current problem, upgrade your
> Distiller from 3.01 to 3.02; free patch in Adobe's web site.
> (Unlike a painful upgrade which I experienced recently, this is a
> reliable and useful upgrade).
> 
> Shlomo Perets
> 
> MicroType
> http://www.microtype.com
> FrameMaker-to-Acrobat: TimeSavers / Advanced Techniques Course / Solutions
> 
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-- 
Jay Smith

e-mail: Jay@JaySmith.com

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