You’ve just started your business, or just decided to redesign your logo and stationery. Along with this you have some decent design software and work up your project exactly as you want it. You pick your colors from a Pantone book, and you are satisfied and excited with your work. Finally, you send your files off to the printer and wait for your proofs with total excitement. But instead of your proofs, a phone call comes.
So what’s the issue? What’s the holdup? What’s gumming up your plan to launch your business to the next level?
Font Issues!
More than anything else, the problem we encounter the most when dealing with files is undoubtedly font issues.
The wrong font, missing fonts, a slightly different version of a common font, a totally unique font no one has ever heard of.
There are all kinds of things that can go wrong with fonts. And we tend to think we have seen most of them, although there is probably something coming we haven’t even thought of yet. Even longtime professional designers whose work we totally respect and love occasionally confront us with font problems that cause the worst kinds of headaches. And those headaches are absolutely communicable, because one thing font issues tend to do is slow down the whole process of getting your materials printed.
But, more often than not, font problems are avoidable.
Here are 5 quick tips to help you over come potential font issues.
1. Get Organized
If you are laying out a design, keep track of what fonts you are using and where. When a problem occurs you want to be able to pinpoint it, and the more information you have the better and smoother the printing process will go.
Create a clear library where you always know where your fonts are stored and how to retrieve them. Also consider investing in a font management tool. This way you can easily manage, track and see the fonts you are using or need, and the software can help you avoid conflicts.
Here is some background on Font Management from Apple
Here are a few links to get you started with font management in Windows 7 as well.
How Windows 7 handles Fonts via PrePressure.com
Installing Fonts from Microsoft Itself
2. When in Doubt, Outline
If you don’t know where a font is and aren’t sure how to get it out of your system and to your printer, than one option to consider is outlining. This is an option available in all quality design software that converts a font to a graphic to be viewed and shared as easily as an image file. As in, no worries about missing font files!
Of course this is best used for large display text on posters or when the text is completely set. If you have a large passage of text where you may need to make changes or corrections at the last minute, then it may not be a good choice. Outlined fonts are no longer editable as text.
3. Be Aware of the License
As professional designers and printers we take the fact that fonts are a designed and created materials very seriously. Someone has worked long and hard to create a typeface for a very specific reason. We believe they deserve to be recognized and compensated for their effort. Just the same as one would expect for any other creator or crafts-person.
Many fonts are available for free on the web and that is a great resource. We ask that you be aware of how those fonts are licensed. If a designer doesn’t want you using their font for a commercial purpose, or if you have an unlicensed commercial font then please reconsider using it. Using the font would not only be unfair to the original font designer but also put you in nebulous legal territory.
4. Choose the style as well as the Font
This is a problem we encounter very often with some of the local businesses we print for. If you are using an Italic typeface then you need to have an italic version of a specific font.
Many people are used to simply selecting a bit of text and choosing italicize from the edit menu to change a font from regular to italics. This works fine in your word processing software, but in laying out a design it can really get messed up when you try to send the file out to a printer.
Instead you need to select a italicized font. So if you are typing something in Times New Roman: Regular and want to italicize a certain word or phrase, then you need to change to Times New Roman: Italic to ensure that the file stays the way you see it from creation to final printing. The same is true for bold or condensed fonts, so if you aren’t sure just ask the printer.
5. Send Your Fonts to the Printer
If you are using an unusual font, or even if you are using what you think is a very run-of-the-mill font, you need to save a copy and send it along with your files to your printer.
Why?
Because, although many printers have great big font libraries, they just may not have the font you are using. Or maybe just not the exact version of the font you have chosen. Even if you have an extremely regular font like Arial, its best to include the one you used. It’s possible the version you have could be just slightly different in some way. Avoid this problem and make the whole process easier on your printer by including the fonts you are using with your project files.
Luckily, many design applications will do this automatically for you by packaging everything up in a nice neat folder. This will contain all of your files, fonts and graphics. If you don’t have such software then it pays to put such a folder together as you work. Again, think of the headaches it will save you as the whole process continues – its definitely worth it.
As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to add them below or stop by the shop.
