Fix Color Emojis Turning Black and White in Word to PDF
Question details
Users find that colored emojis copied into documents render correctly on screen but lose their color when exported to PDF.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Saving or exporting a text document containing Segoe UI Emoji or other color emojis into a PDF format.
- Observed behavior
- The emojis appear correctly in the word processor but become black and white (monochrome) in the resulting PDF file because standard PDF fonts lack support for OpenType SVG color glyphs.
Before converting your document, note that standard PDF creators usually cannot embed OpenType SVG color fonts directly, so you will need to rely on alternative print drivers or image conversion methods to retain the colors.
Use a Print-to-PDF Virtual Printer
Using a virtual PDF printer instead of the standard 'Save As' function can sometimes bypass font restrictions by flattening the document during the print spooling process.
PDFMaker and standard 'Save as PDF' plugins try to embed fonts natively, which fails for OpenType SVG formats. A virtual PDF printer forces the operating system to render the visual output differently, often preserving the color layout.
Open your document in Microsoft Word and navigate to File, then click on Print.
From the Printer dropdown menu, select 'Adobe PDF', 'Microsoft Print to PDF', or another installed virtual PDF printer.
Click the Print button. You will be prompted to choose a destination folder to save your new PDF file.
Convert Emojis to Images Before Saving
Manually replacing font-based emojis with image files guarantees that they will remain in full color regardless of the PDF exporter used.
Flatten Fonts Using Prepress Tools
Use advanced prepress software to flatten Type 3 fonts into raster or vector artwork.
Try WPS Office for Seamless PDF Exporting
If Microsoft Word's PDF export limits your document formatting and emoji rendering, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides robust built-in PDF conversion features and excellent format compatibility without the heavy resource usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do standard PDFs not support OpenType SVG color emojis?
The core PDF specification does not natively support the OpenType SVG format used for modern color emojis. When exporting, PDF engines typically fall back to monochrome CFF or TrueType glyphs to ensure text remains readable and standard-compliant.
Does saving as a PDF on a Mac preserve emoji colors?
Macs use a different rendering engine (Quartz) which often handles Apple Color Emoji better than standard Windows PDF engines. If you use the native 'Save as PDF' function on macOS, your emojis are more likely to retain their color.
Can I use Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker to fix this issue?
Acrobat PDFMaker for Office generally struggles with OpenType SVG fonts as well and may not preserve the colors. You typically need to use Adobe Creative Cloud applications to convert the text to vector artwork or use virtual printers.
