Fonts

The fonts used in a particular piece of artwork can be the most problematic of items to deal with. For example, what happens if the really cool font that you have found online is only available for the PC and not the Apple Mac? Or if the version of that font your printer has in his font library differs very slightly from the one you've used, and words end up either in the wrong place, or disappear altogether?

It is possible, of course, to send the fonts that are being used, along with the artwork. That is one way to solve the problem… but unfortunately, it may be illegal, because doing so can often contravene the license agreement that came with the font.

Another option would be to save the artwork as a PDF, in which the fonts are embedded, although using PDFs mean that other considerations have to be borne in mind.

And there is a way to dispense with fonts altogether-and that method is called outlining. To put it very simply, it means that every letter used in the artwork is converted to a shape, with the result that no fonts are required by the printers when they place the work on the printing presses, in order to produce the work.

Because fonts can be so problematic, we always recommend that you talk to us about them, before sending us your artwork.