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Wrong fonts in printed PDF files

Sometimes a PDF file looks fine on screen but it prints in an unsightly substitute font which impedes reading, or symbols are replaced by small rectangles. This is due to Adobe trying to re-create the document using its own fonts instead of the document's fonts. The following procedure, discovered by a Part III student, fixed this on MCS Windows and is worth trying if you have similar problems printing from other Windows machines.

It sounds like Adobe is attempting to use its default fonts instead of the document's fonts. I was having a similar problem and the following fixed it for me (I'm using a Windows 7 Platform and Office 2010 Professional and was attempting to print a MapPoint Map to Adobe PDF in Adobe X.):

  1. Click on START, DEVICES & PRINTERS, ADOBE PRINTER, PRINTER PROPERTIES, PREFERENCES
  2. Then under the Adobe PDF Settings tab click on DEFAULT, HIGH QUALITY PRINT. Next, UN-CHECK "Rely on system fonts only, do not use document fonts." Click APPLY, OK
  3. Go back to Step 1 and Click on the PAPER/QUALITY tab, ADVANCED. Look for IMAGE COLOR MANAGEMENT, TRUE TYPE FONT: Click on the "Substitute with device font." A dropdown box will appear. Click on "DOWNLOAD AS SOFTFONT."
  4. Next, under DOCUMENT OPTIONS, click on POSTSCRIPT OPTIONS, TRUETYPE FONT DOWNLOAD OPTIONS: Click on "Automatic." A dropdown box will appear. Click on "NATIVE TRUETYPE."

Click OK to close the pop-up window. You may have to click on APPLY once you get back to the Paper/Quality tab, then click on OK to close that window. If Apply is available in the Adobe PDF Properties window, click it then click OK one more time to close the window and "X" out of everything else. Your new preferences should be saved and your document should print in Adobe just like it looks on your screen in the original program.

The steps above will change your Adobe Printer Default Settings to accept and print fonts native to the document you are trying to create, instead of using Adobe's fonts to "re-create" the document leading to undesirable results.