Expert: Amy - 10/31/2007

Question
Hi Amy,

I was wondering something. I usually create my ads in Illustrator and convert them to high-res pdfs. Shoudl I be converting my text to outlines or does it not matter since they are being created into pdfs?

Thank you!!

Allie

Answer
Hi Allie,

Most places will tell you embedding the fonts is good enough. Some actually prefer it.

I always convert to outlines because I've found that you cannot rely on newspapers prepress people to check every character of every ad for accuracy. Some fonts are funny, some don't make the transition from Mac to PC.

There have been times when I have a ton of text, or I trust the prepress people, or I know I will be given a press check, that I leave some of the smaller text as text. It saves on file size and will produce marginally crisper results, depending on the press.

I always convert display text (large text) to outlines. I also convert weird fonts (like freeware fonts) to outlines. Can't depend on those at all.

Hope this helps!
Amy