Fun with Fonts

[Мастер]

So, I've been trying to use a rather unusual font, which does not seem to be standard in any of the major OSs/software packages. The reason is so that the appearance of the documents I produce would match some of the other documents which have been produced here.

The responses form IT generally fall into two categories. The first is, you need to provide us with an extremely convincing case that you need this font and we should let you use it, even though we have already licensed the font on an enterprise-wide basis and could easily give to you for free. The second is, rather than answering the question that is asked, to tell me what they think I ought to be doing instead of what I want to do.

Rather bizarrely, I discovered I can use the font. Some of the PDF documents that have been produced already have roman, bold, and italic fonts "embedded" in them. I can edit these PDF files using Adobe Illustrator, delete all of the contents, and insert new text using the already embedded font. Then save it as a PDF file, and include this PDF in the document I am writing. You can't put the entire document in this font (I don't think anybody wants to edit a lengthy document using Illustrator), but that's not what I want to do - I want to use this font in headers and footers, short pieces of text. This method actually works.

But, it is cumbersome as hell. Is there a better way? The best I can find from a Google search is, "buy the font yourself". But I wonder if maybe there is a way to extract the embedded fonts from a PDF.

[Lance]

That was a wonderful description of the problem, but you neglected to name the font.

Have you seen this:
How can I extract embedded fonts from a PDF as valid font files?

[Мастер]

That was a wonderful description of the problem, but you neglected to name the font.

I can't remember, but it was one I never heard of before. I've got all the font stuff on the office computer, I'm at home, and the SSH connection doesn't seem to be working - there was some announcement about some maintenance work that I didn't pay any attention to, maybe the office network is down now.

Have you seen this:
How can I extract embedded fonts from a PDF as valid font files?

I'll give it a try, most likely tomorrow (although it's looking more and more like I need to earn a lot of arse-in-seat miles this week). It's a bit discouraging, in that they suggest you probably only get a partial set (whatever is used in the existing document), but my Illustrator method didn't seem to have any problems with this issue. So maybe it's not really a problem.

[Lance]

I have a lot of fonts. I worked in graphic arts for a little while a couple of decades ago and just kept them around. Plus I run across more all the time.

You use Macs at work, or Linux? Can you use TTF fonts?

I'd be interested in looking at one of those PDFs if you want to remove the contents and attach on here... Though make sure there is at least something in it, in the desired font.

[Мастер]

Frutiger, but they eventually gave them to me. The "if you won't give them to me, I'll just have to buy my own license, even though we are already licensed" seemed to work.

[Lance]

I don't have it, but I found a free download. If it's the same, anyway.

http://www.cufonfonts.com/en/font/13165/frutiger-lt-std

[Мастер]

I don't have it, but I found a free download. If it's the same, anyway.

http://www.cufonfonts.com/en/font/13165/frutiger-lt-std

Hmm. Don't know. I thought it was a rather expensive licensed font. Maybe this is an imitator, or just illegal.

[Lance]

Well, I also found it for around $400. I prefer free though.

[Arneb]

Funny. We have Frutiger at the hospital embedded into word, but we don't use it (our standard fare is Verdana, which I like). It would fit our management to buy a hyperexpensive proprietary font and then never use it.

[Мастер]

Funny. We have Frutiger at the hospital embedded into word, but we don't use it (our standard fare is Verdana, which I like). It would fit our management to buy a hyperexpensive proprietary font and then never use it.

Verdana is what I have been using as a substitute.

[Lance]

Funny. We have Frutiger at the hospital embedded into word, but we don't use it (our standard fare is Verdana, which I like). It would fit our management to buy a hyperexpensive proprietary font and then never use it.

If you navigate to your C:\Windows\Fonts folder you can probably find the TTF file(s) for the font.

[Arneb]

You mean, as a Windows original? My copy of Win7 (and I use Ultimate) doesn't have it.

[Мастер]

You mean, as a Windows original? My copy of Win7 (and I use Ultimate) doesn't have it.

Hmm. Perhaps Word has a place for its own fonts, that are not shared with the rest of the OS?

Seems a bit strange for a word processing product built by the same people who produced the OS, but I don't know much about MS products these days . . .

[Arneb]

At home, it's neither in Word nor in c:\Windows\fonts. At work, I'd expect to find it in both. I lifted a nice font from my former University hospital eight years ago, and I always got it to function everywhere when I copied it inti the c:\Windows\fonts folder.

[Lance]

MS Office products don't have a separate place for fonts. They use the ones in the \Fonts folder. But, it is possible to obscure a font by giving the file an odd name.

Can you see it in the Control Panel > Fonts?

I guess there could be something going of which I am unaware, but I have to say it is unlikely. I've searched a bit to see if anything comes up about installing a font just in Word and I'm not finding anything.

Do you have any other applications that use fonts? Perhaps Excel, or Adobe Photoshop? I would like to see if the font is available in the other apps.

[Arneb]

No, no, it's missing in both at home.
When I said "embedded in Word", I just meant that my computer at the hospital offers it in the Word control panel and, thus, presumably, it's in the fonts folder locally on all the machines in the house. I didn't want to suggest that we had it in Word only.

[Lance]

Ah, okay. That makes sense now.

So using all this information, you should be able to copy it to home if you so desired.

[Arneb]

I don't particularly like it, and it is not on the hospital's documents, so no reason.

BTW, the font I took with me from the old hospital is ITC Franklin Gothic. That looks good on a business letter or hospital discharge summary.

[Lance]

I don't particularly like it, and it is not on the hospital's documents, so no reason.

BTW, the font I took with me from the old hospital is ITC Franklin Gothic. That looks good on a business letter or hospital discharge summary.

Yes, ITC Franklin Gothic is a good font. I use it now and then as well.