How to Fix Arial Narrow Font Printing Problems in Excel PDFs
Question details
The user needs to prevent Arial Narrow text from appearing garbled when exporting or printing an Excel spreadsheet to PDF.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Converting an Excel spreadsheet containing Arial Narrow fonts into a PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- Arial Narrow text appears garbled or distorted when printed to PDF using the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver (Acrobat Distiller).
Ensure that the Arial Narrow font is properly installed on your system and that you have the Acrobat PDFMaker add-in enabled in Excel.
Use the Acrobat PDFMaker Integration (Save as Adobe PDF)
Bypassing the PostScript printer driver and using Excel's built-in PDFMaker integration correctly preserves the Arial Narrow font during conversion.
Printing through Acrobat Distiller (the Adobe PDF printer) can sometimes misinterpret specific TrueType fonts like Arial Narrow, resulting in garbled text. The 'Save as Adobe PDF' feature uses PDFMaker, which processes fonts differently and prevents this issue.
Launch Microsoft Excel and open the workbook containing the Arial Narrow text.
Click on the 'Acrobat' tab in the Excel ribbon. If you don't see this tab, you may need to enable the Acrobat PDFMaker COM Add-in in Excel Options.
Click on 'Create PDF' or go to 'File' > 'Save as Adobe PDF'. Avoid using 'File' > 'Print' > 'Adobe PDF'.
Choose a destination to save your new PDF file, open it, and check if the Arial Narrow text is displayed correctly.
Export to PDF flawlessly with WPS Office
WPS Office features a powerful built-in PDF converter that accurately preserves all fonts, including Arial Narrow, without relying on third-party printer drivers like Acrobat Distiller.
- 1. Open the spreadsheet in WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office and open your Excel file containing the Arial Narrow fonts.
- 2. Access the Export to PDF tool: Go to the 'Menu' button or the 'Tools' tab, and select 'Export to PDF'.
- 3. Configure export settings: In the dialog box, choose your save path and ensure standard export options are selected for optimal font embedding.
- 4. Export and view: Click 'Export to PDF'. The resulting file will accurately display Arial Narrow text without garbling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Arial Narrow get garbled only when printing to PDF?
Printing to PDF using a virtual printer like Acrobat Distiller translates the document into PostScript first. Some TrueType fonts, like Arial Narrow, can lose their encoding during this PostScript translation, resulting in garbled characters.
How do I enable the Acrobat PDFMaker add-in in Excel?
Go to File > Options > Add-ins. In the 'Manage' drop-down at the bottom, select 'COM Add-ins' and click 'Go'. Check the box for 'Acrobat PDFMaker Office COM Addin' and click OK.
Can I fix this by embedding fonts in Adobe Distiller settings?
Sometimes. You can go to your Adobe PDF printer preferences, edit the Default Settings, navigate to the Fonts folder, and ensure Arial Narrow is added to the 'Always Embed' list. However, using the 'Save as Adobe PDF' (PDFMaker) method is generally more reliable.
Does this issue affect other fonts besides Arial Narrow?
Yes, similar garbled text issues can occur with other specific TrueType or OpenType fonts when routed through a PostScript printer driver. The PDFMaker or built-in export methods usually resolve these as well.
