How To Outline Fonts For Print

When designing your company's artwork for print, it is important to convert your fonts to outlines or flatten the fonts once the final design is complete. This is a crucial step if you use custom purchased fonts because the text used in your InDesign, Illustrator, or PDF file may not be installed or available in another company's computer system.

To avoid any back and forth in the artwork process, the font and images in your project file will have its data and information stripped by converting the font into an outline. This will allow the recipient to view the original font and images without having to purchase a custom font.

Below are steps to outline or flatten fonts using industry-standard design programs.

How To Outline Fonts In Adobe Illustrator

1. Open the Adobe Illustrator file, and then click on the selection tool (or type the letter “v” for a keyboard shortcut). Use the selection tool to select the text in your design.
   
2. Highlight your text, go to the Type Tab in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Then click on Create Outlines. You can also highlight your text and right click with the mouse. Either option you choose, you will need to click on Create Outlines. This will convert the selected text into shapes that can be easily manipulated into other shapes. It is important to understand the selected text will no longer be recognized as text after this point and cannot be clicked on with the Text Tool to change what the text says.
3. Once you have made the final changes to your file make sure to save the document as a copy. This will avoid making any permanent changes to your companies labels and fonts.

How To Outline Fonts In Adobe InDesign

1. Open the Adobe InDesign file to be worked on, whether old or new the steps will be the same. It is important to note that you can go to Type, and Create Outlines. However, by doing this you cannot edit the label’s text in the future. To continue editing your labels text is it recommended to complete the rest of the steps listed.
2. Click on Edit, this will be between File and Layout. Choose Transparency Flattener Presets, which will open its window in the middle of your screen.
3. Under Presets, select High Resolution, and then click on New. This will open a window titled Transparency Flattener Preset Options.
4. In the Transparency Flattener Preset Options window, enter a name of your choosing in the box near Name. Make sure the Raster/Vector Balance is all the way to the right, which will be 100. At the bottom of this window you should see Convert All Text to Outlines. Click the box near this until it displays a check mark.
5. Once the tasks in step 4 have been completed click on OK. You will be brought back to the Transparency Flattener Presets, and you will select OK once more. This will take you back to your label design
6. You will need transparency in every page of the document that has text, in order for it to be converted. To check if Transparency has been added, look in the Page Panel and select the right icon that looks like a hamburger. This will open a dropdown menu. In the dropdown menu select Panel Options. The Panel Options window will appear on your screen.
7. In the Panel Options Window, look in the section titled Icons. There you should see a box with a check mark near Transparency. If there is no check mark, go ahead and click the box. Once the check mark has been added to Transparency, select OK.
8. In the Page Panel window, you will see a transparency icon, usually a box with an x in it, near the page thumbnail if there is some element of transparency.
9. If there is no transparent icon, then go to the Tool Panel on the left side of the screen. Click on create a frame, the icon will appear as a box with a X in the Tools Panel.Create a frame by holding down the mouse button and dragging it into the shape of a rectangle. For now, it does not matter where the frame is placed.
10. Fill the frame with a random color, and choose OK. In the Effects Panel, change the percentage to .01 near Opacity. If you do not see the Effects Panel, click on the space around the page thumbnail in Page Panel. Once this step has been completed, you can move the frame anywhere on the page. It is recommended to move the frame to a corner of the label artboard. A small amount of the frame should only be visible in the corner of the artboard. You will also see a box with an x near the page thumbnail, which will represent the Transparency.
11. Go to File, and click on Export. In the box near Save as Type, make sure Adobe PDF (Print) is selected. Once this is done click on Save. This will open the Export Adobe PDF window.
12. In the Export Adobe PDF window, go to Compatibility, and open the dropdown menu. The Compatibility will be under the section titled General. Make sure to select Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3). Keep this window open for the next step.
13. Next, go to the section titled Advanced, and click on the dropdown menu by Preset. The Preset tab will be in the Transparency Flattener section. Once you open the dropdown menu, select the preset you made earlier in step 4. It will be under the name you gave the Preset file. Once you have the Preset selected, click on Export.
14. Once you click Export, this will convert the texts to outlines if done correctly. If changes are needed, you will need to Export the file again after editing the labels font. If not, then go to File, and press Save.

How To Outline Fonts In PDF Format

1. Open the pdf file, and then click on edit. This will be at the top right of the screen in the ribbon bar.
2. After you click on edit, scroll down until you see pages. Under pages, click on page thumbnails. Once you click on page thumbnails you should see to the left of your screen all the pages within your file lined in numerical order.
3. Scroll to the top of the page thumbnails until you see the first page of your content file. Select the first page by holding control f, and scroll down until you reach the last page of your file without un-clicking the control f key.
4. In your toolbar, click on watermark under the edit page design tab. Once you open the watermark, select the add a watermark option.
5. The add watermark window should pop up in the middle of your screen. In the right corner of the window you will see a white box with the word text next to it. Type a period or any random character into the white box next to the word text. After you have typed in your character, find the opacity tool which usually will be in the middle left hand corner of the add watermark window under appearance. Click the circle on the line next to opacity and reduce it until it represents zero. Under Position, click on apply to multiple.
6. A screen will appear that will show you the file name and size. Select the whole file. After you select the file it will bring you to the output options.
7. At the bottom left of the output options window screen you will see the box next to overwrite existing files checked off. Unclick the box until it is no longer checked off. Important to note, if there are any complications when flattening or outlining your PDF then simply unchecking the overwrite existing files box can save your file from being replaced or lost. However, it is still suggested to make a copy of each file in case there are any complications. After unchecking the box, click on OK.
8. Once the watermarks have been added go to view at the top of the ribbon bar. Under view, scroll down to tools. Hover your mouse over the right hand arrow to see print production. Click on print production and you will see the flattener preview. Click on flattener preview to flatten your whole PDF file.
9. In the flattener preview window, look in the section under transparency flattener preset options. In this section, click the box next to convert all text to outlines. It should display a check mark after being clicked on. In the same window, look for a section titled apply to pdf. Under this section, click the box next to all pages in the document. Next, click on apply. Once you click on apply do not be alarmed if it displays a window stating this operation cannot be done. If you do see this window just click on yes to proceed. You should then see a progress bar displaying your file being flattened.
10. Before you exit out of your now converted and flattened file make sure to click on the save as button to create a saved copy of the changes and to avoid losing your progress. Rename the second file to easily identify your original and new pdf file from each other.
11. Open the new file and click on the first page. You should see after clicking on the page a window stating that this file has been outlined or flattened.

Importance of Converting Text To Outlines

By following these steps listed in the guides, you will have complete control over the appearance of your product without fear of missing fonts, or your font substituted for another format. Be sure that you have correctly worked within your clear space, denoted bleed in your artwork, and properly indicated any white ink in your design. This will ensure your label appearance will be in line with your product vision.