Fonts are integral to a document, because, well, that is mostly what a document is. Quite often, jobs are caught up in the prepress area due to font problems. The most common reason for this is simply that the graphics department does not have the font(s) necessary to print the document.

Layout programs, and simple word processors as well, store the text of the document inside of the file that you save. They do not save, or embed, the font(s) themselves. What this means is that each time the file is opened, it has to search the computer for the font(s) used within the document. If the fonts are not somewhere on your computer, then the document will not print properly.

The easiest solution to this is to send your print shop the font(s) that you are using with your document when you submit the job. Without these fonts, the job can not go very far. To save these fonts for your printer, simply copy them from your font directory (more than likely it will be c:\windows\fonts, although there are a few other places that they could be tucked away). For any questions concerning fonts, and how to provide us with the correct fonts, do not hesitate to contact us.

When dealing with vector based programs (Illustrator, Freehand, etc.), fonts work somewhat differently. In these programs you can outline text within the document. This converts the text into vector artwork (which is very simple considering that fonts are a type of vector object themselves). When text is outlined in these programs, the font files themselves are no longer needed because the text is now a part of the file. However, it is still preferred to have a copy of all the font files just in case further editing is necessary.

It is important to note that when fonts are outlined in a file, they can no longer be edited. That is, if you have outlined someone's misspelled name, you can not change it. That is why it is a good idea to save your files that have been outlined as a different name.