PDF-XChange Co Ltd :: Knowledge Base :: Why do fonts look different when I view the same document on different computers?

KB161
Oct 09, 2023 08:22 AM

Why do fonts look different when I view the same document on different computers?

Problem

Why do fonts look different when I view the same document on different computers?

Solution

This is happening because the font used is not available on the secondary computer and was not embedded in the document. The simplest way to resolve this issue is to change the font used to one of the Windows default fonts, which are detailed here.

If using a different font is not an option then it is necessary to embed the font in the document in order to resolve this issue. Note that font embedding considerably increases file sizes.

(Click a header below to learn how to embed fonts in each app)

Editor Method

The PDF-XChange Editor is able to forcibly embed fonts by saving a document to an Archival format.

To begin this process, open the document you would like to embed fonts into with our PDF-XChange Editor.

Now that the document is open, use the Save as command (Ctrl+Shift+S).

From the window that appears, change the "Save as type" field, to PDF/A:

After this is complete, re-open the file, and you will see our document info bar appear atop the file, presenting the option to "Enable editing". You will need to use this function to unlock all editing features within the document once again.

Now, your fonts should be properly embedded into the document.

Printer method

Note that Printing PDF to PDF is never advised as it can cause numerous issues, including loss of font data (which defeats the purpose in this situation). If you are looking to resolve the issue in an existing PDF application/document, please see the "Editor Method" above.
If you are printing from another, non-PDF application, our free virtual printer PDF-XChange Lite, can be used for this purpose. Please download a free version and then refer to the online manual for instructions on how to embed fonts. The relevant page is available here. Please note that embedding fonts will increase the size of documents. If the file size becomes too large then embedding a font subset, as opposed to the entire font, is a useful alternative.