How to Use Custom Fonts When Creating PDFs in Adobe Acrobat
Question details
The user needs to ensure their final PDF document uses their organization's custom fonts instead of substituting them with default Adobe fonts.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Generating professional PDF documents that require specific organizational branding and typography from an authoring application.
- Observed behavior
- A method is needed to guarantee that custom fonts are embedded and displayed properly within the output PDF without unwanted font replacement.
Ensure the custom fonts are properly installed on your computer's operating system and verify that their licensing terms allow for document embedding.
Apply and Embed Fonts in the Source Application
Since Acrobat generates PDFs based on the text data from the authoring application, you must correctly select and embed the fonts before converting.
Adobe Acrobat generally uses the exact fonts selected in the original source program (like Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint). To prevent Acrobat from substituting these with standard fonts, the custom font must be embedded at the document level before conversion.
Launch your authoring application (e.g., Word or PowerPoint) and open the file you intend to convert.
Highlight the required text and choose your organization's custom font from the Font dropdown menu in the toolbar.
Go to File > Options > Save (in Office applications), and check the box labeled 'Embed fonts in the file' to guarantee the font data travels with the document.
Click the Acrobat tab in the ribbon and select 'Create PDF', or go to File > Save As and choose PDF to finalize the conversion.
Easily Create PDFs with Custom Fonts Using WPS Office
WPS Office features a powerful, built-in PDF conversion tool that automatically retains your chosen custom fonts from documents, spreadsheets, and presentations without the need for complex settings or expensive third-party PDF software.
- 1. Apply Custom Font: Open your document in WPS Writer and apply your custom font from the Home tab.
- 2. Access PDF Export: Click the 'Menu' button in the top left corner and select 'Export to PDF'.
- 3. Save as PDF: Choose your export destination and click 'Export' to generate a PDF that accurately preserves your original typography.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my custom fonts change to standard fonts when I save as PDF?
This usually occurs because the custom font is not installed on the system performing the conversion, the font's licensing restricts digital embedding, or the font embedding option was left unchecked in the source application's save preferences.
How can I check if my custom fonts are successfully embedded in the PDF?
Open the final PDF in Adobe Acrobat or your preferred PDF reader, press Ctrl+D (or Command+D on Mac) to open Document Properties, and navigate to the Fonts tab. It will list all document fonts and display '(Embedded)' or '(Embedded Subset)' next to them if the embedding was successful.
What is font substitution in PDF documents?
Font substitution happens when a PDF requires a specific font that is neither embedded in the file nor installed on the viewer's device. To keep the document readable, the PDF software temporarily replaces the missing font with a standard default system font, such as Arial or Minion Pro.
