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Adobe Ends All Support For PostScript Type 1 Fonts In January 2023—Across The Board, Everywhere

This change won’t just impact future projects. It has the potential to cause serious problems in all existing assets that contain these fonts. You know, an entire foundation of creative blood, sweat, and tears.

Don’t worry, we can fix this.

What’s Going To Happen?

Misbehaving fonts can cause issues in documents, video files, brand assets, and more. 
The dilemma at hand is that, rather than one problematic font, we’re all going to be dealing with a huge number of fonts no longer being supported, all at once.

 

PostScript Type 1 fonts aren’t released as often these days, but they are used very frequently.
For many agencies and designers, these fonts make up a significant chunk of active libraries. Once these fonts no longer work within Adobe apps, you can expect:

  • Unprompted font substitutions that make text wrap and warp
  • Fonts being inaccessible
  • So many “Missing Fonts” notifications someone chucks their laptop into a wall
  • Clients demanding new versions of established work due to file issues
  • Exorbitant replacement costs

But, don’t worry, you’ve got this.

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Get Ahead Of The Curve

You and your team aren’t going to let some little font support issue get in your way. Nope. You’re going to get ahead of the problem with these steps:

  • Identify all the PostScript fonts in your collection
  • Identify which assets for which clients are affected
  • Make a timeline for using and purchasing substitute fonts
  • Tackle or delegate touchup work for assets
  • Burn a smudge stick to clear out all that negative PostScript energy and move forward (optional)

The best part? There’s software that can help you with all this (except the smudge stick).

More PostScript Resources

Got Questions?

Wait, Can’t I Just Convert Them?

There are rumors buzzing around that you can avoid the problem (PostScript Pickle, Fontageddon, Helvetica On Earth, whatever you want to call it) by just converting the file type of your existing fonts. Sorry, it’s not the shortcut you think it is.

Converting fonts is a gray area and could be a violation of the fonts’ End User License Agreements (EULAs). They also may not behave the same way once you convert them, leading to a whole new host of problems. So you could be right back where you started, plus a call from a type foundry’s lawyer.

What Happens To My Files And Documents When Support For PostScript Ends?

Here is an outline of what happens to your files and documents when support for PostScript ends:

  • Adobe applications will no longer recognize PostScript Fonts.
  • That means you can’t create content using Type 1 fonts after January 2023.
  • More importantly, existing Adobe files utilizing Type 1 fonts created before January 2023 will NOT be editable without replacing the font.

    When you try, you’ll receive the dreaded “missing font” error, annoying “link” or “re-link” alert, agitating warning triangles, or even blue banners of doom—depending on what program you’re using. Ugh.
  • Sure, embedded Type 1 data can be placed for display or printing…but editing will set off alarms that require immediate attention (i.e. interrupt your workflow big time).
  • PDFs with embedded Type 1 fonts will display as expected. Non-embedded fonts will be replaced in two ways: (a.) by a font that ships with Acrobat or is your operating system’s default; or (b.) by Acrobat’s font substitution table and the available fonts on your system.

    However, when a viewer other than Acrobat is used in a web browser, “Adobe can’t control what will happen.

What Is The Likelihood My Font Libraries Contain Type 1 Fonts?

The likelihood your font collection includes Type 1 fonts is very high. We recently reviewed our customer font database of over 7 million fonts and discovered that 25% are PostScript Type 1. Did you know the average creative’s font library contains roughly 4500 fonts? Trust us, you’ve got more PostScript Type 1 fonts than you think you do.

The Font Manager For Creative Professionals

 

Even if there wasn’t an impending fontastrophe, Extensis Connect could still be your
team’s saving grace.

  • +  Built on thirty years of font management experience to meet the unique needs of fast-paced creative agencies
  • +  Plugins for Adobe Creative Cloud Apps and Sketch
  • +  Patented FontSense technology ensures the right version of the right font is activated every time
  • +  Efficient font distribution and sharing for collaboration

Spend your 2023 focused on winning awards and wowing clients, not stressing about fonts.

EXPLORE CONNECT