Fonts
Supported formats
Many different kinds of font exist in graphic design. Not all of them are compatible with Wedia. The following table exposes font families and their compatibility with Wedia’s platform.
Extension | Name | Compatibility with Wedia | Hardware OS | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.otf | OpenType | Compatible | Windows Mac OS Linux | The .otf format is perfect for documents aimed to be uploaded to the platform. To use in priority. |
.ttf | TrueType | Compatible (non adviced) | Windows Mac OS | The .ttf format can work on an editorial platform. But, there are differences between the TrueType PC format and the TrueType Mac format, which can generate artefacts. That’s why this format is not recommended; it must be used in last resort only… |
.ps | Postscript | Incompatible | Windows Mac OS | Postscript format is nowadays too old; even if it is still used by many graphic designers, it musn’t be used in the documents you create for the platform. |
.dfont | DataFork | Incompatible | Mac OS | The .dfont format is used by Mac OS system. It is not adapted for the work on a platform. This fonts musn’t be used in the documents you create for the platform. |
Licence
Fonts, like sofwares, are intellectual properties protected by specific licence delivered by their founder (a “founder” is a company or a designer who creates and delivers fonts).
As a customer of Wedia, you are responsible of the fonts you use in your documents. Before uploading an Adobe InDesign file to the platform, you must be sure you have an adapted licence for each font used on the server, accessed online and hosted outside your IT infrastructure. This licence must also allow you to generate PDF incorporating the entire font.
Wedia cannot be held responsible for unlicensed font use on its system.
Please refer to Wedia’s general terms and conditions and to your font-use licence contract. If in doubt, you should ask the company who delivered you the font or change for royalty free fonts, under GNU/GPL licence.
Useful links
A guide published by the BSA, organism fighting against pirating:
http://www.bsa.org/country/~/media/Files/Tools_And_Resources/Guides/FontGuide/FontGuide_FR.ashxFAQ Adobe:
http://www.adobe.com/fr/aboutadobe/antipiracy/ff_faq.htmlLinotype licence contact:
http://www.linotype.com/fr/2061-28225/65279contratdutilisationdulogicieldepolicesndashlinotypeeula.html
What to do when your font doesn’t exists in OpenType?
If you are working with a very old document, it may use PostScript fonts only. In this case, try to find similar fonts, in OpenType format, and proceed to a substitution. Generally, you will easily find correspondancies between Postscript fonts family et OpenType font family, the founders have regularly converted all their creations.
But, it may happen that a Postscript font has no equivalent in OpenType: that is the case of fonts used by big companies who have custom-made fonts with an exclusive licence.
In such a case, you don’t have any other option than expand the frames using this font before to upload your file to the platform.
To outline a text selection click on Type > Create outlines in Adobe InDesign.
Once expanded, the text won’t be editable anymore in the platform as it would have been vectorized.
Be careful, never use a font-convertion software to convert a .ps file into a .otf file: this would be considered as a violation of your font-use licence contract!
InDesign Plugin linked to a font manager
To handle your fonts, you may use a font manager software such as Extensis Suitcase, Universal Type Server or Linotype Font Explorer. To facilitate the missing font activation when opening a file, those software usually install plugins (InDesign). To avoid any perturbation in the composition platform, Wedia recommends to desactivate systematically those plugins.
Using Helvetica, Helvetica Neue and Helvetica Neue LT family on Mac OS
Many layouts are created with fonts like Helvetica and Helvetica Neue. But when you are working with a Mac computer, it may generate conflicts: indeed, since the 10.5 release (Leopard), Apple introduced locks which make system version of Helvetica / Helvetica Neue fonts prioritary; and as they have a specific format (.dfont), it usually creates conflicts, such as weird replacements and artefacts in displays: http://www.fontgeek.net/blog/?p=253.
The best solution is to change the font: Linotype released a new font collection “NEUE Helvetica”. Changing the font name definitively solves the problem:
http://www.linotype.com/en/1266/neuehelvetica-famille.html
Missing fonts
Before uploading a source file to the platform, you have to make sure no font is missing. To check if fonts are missing make a click on File > package in Adobe InDesign. In the dialogue box, select the section Fonts.
Figure 1. Font list display in Adobe InDesign