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David_Cardillo
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stroked type in ID not aligning w/stroke in PDF

May 22, 2012 7:49 AM

Tags: #font #cs5.5 #indesign #type #stroke

I have a weird situation, and I'm thinking it's related to the particular font, not anything in InDesign, per se.

 

I have some black type with a tiny (.05pt) stroke applied in ID (CS5.5). Everything looks fine on screen. However when I export a PDF, the type doesn't align with the strokes — it's as if different kerning/tracking has been applied to the type, but not the strokes. It's not all the type, and not on every line, but most of it has this "ghosting" or "halo" look to it when you zoom in to the PDF.

 

We've run similar type treatments in different fonts, and this didn't happen. I've tried a variety of PDF export settings (Press Quality, PDF/X-4, 1a) even exporting to IDML and bringing it into CS4. I'm not changing the fonts to outlines (I've read threads about how outlined text w/strokes caused issues) and there is no transparency. (As a test, I did try Isolate Blending and flattening, but that rastered all the type into jaggy bitmaps.)

 

There's also something I haven't normally seen (because I don't normally look) but it looks like the font is listed twice in the Fonts list in the Document settings — once ansi encoded and once again with Custom encoding.

 

This is what makes me think it's the font.

588 Views   6 Replies   Latest reply: Peter Spier, May 22, 2012 10:42 AM
 
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  • Peter Spier
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    1. Peter Spier,
    May 22, 2012 8:26 AM   in reply to David_Cardillo
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    Listing of fonts more than once is not unusual.

     

    Which particular font is it? Is it only this font that has the problem?

     

    How are you vieing the PDF?

     

    Can you give us a screen shot? Use the cmaera icon onthe web page to embed it in your post like this:

    CameraIcon.png

     
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  • David_Cardillo
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    2. David_Cardillo,
    May 22, 2012 8:52 AM   in reply to David_Cardillo
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    This is how it appears in Acrobat X:

    Picture 7.png

     

    The font is Cochin LT Std (OT) Roman. This is how it's listed as an embedded font in the PDF:

     

    2012-05-22_1135.png

     

    For what it's worth, because it may be related, I've seen weirdness with some fonts when rendered in a PDF before. Sometimes it appears if the type is improperly kerned. (We started seeing that, rarely, when we moved to CS5 from 4 and started using PDF/X-4 instead of 1a.) I've actually seen it on occasion where the letters transpose, as if there were negative kerning amounts in the hundreds applied, the letters appearing on top of each other and in different order. (CS2 & 3)

     

    All these instances look as they should in InDesign, but the aberrations appear in the PDF (typically viewed in Acrobat, but also visible in Illustrator and Preview).

     

    Picture 9.pngPicture 8.png

     

    Further testing suggests that the stroke and type are rendered independently of each other. If I open the PDF in Illustrator, I need the font installed for the type to render properly. However if I turn the font off, the type is rendered in a substitute font but the strokes are not — they are still rendered as outlines in the shape of the original glyphs.

     

    Picture 10.png

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    3. Peter Spier,
    May 22, 2012 8:59 AM   in reply to David_Cardillo
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    Would you be willing to share a sample .indd  file that has this problem?

     
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  • David_Cardillo
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    4. David_Cardillo,
    May 22, 2012 9:08 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    and yes, it appears only in this font with this styling. If I create a different style with the same font, I don't get this aberration. If I apply this styling to different text, I get the same effect.

     
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  • David_Cardillo
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    5. David_Cardillo,
    May 22, 2012 9:21 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    I can give you dummy text with that styling (the same effect of the stroke appears). I don't see a way to attach a file here. I am also unable to distribute a copy of the font. Here is the font info:

     

    Picture 11.png

     

    Style settings in ID:

    Picture 14.png

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    6. Peter Spier,
    May 22, 2012 10:42 AM   in reply to David_Cardillo
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    You can either post a link here for anyone, or send me a private message. I have Cochin LT Std, but a newer version, which might be instuctive, too.

     

    I'm not surprised, by the way that the sroke is a separate object in the PDF. I'm not sure how it could be anything else.

     
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