How to PDF/X-1a Scribus 1.5?

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utnik

hi john

i opened your file with your copy of the font (removed mine temporarily) in scribus 1.5.3 and exported it to a .pdf/x-1a – everything looks perfect (baskerville visible and listed in the document properties in acrobat reader dc...)

i don't know what went wrong with your export.
...and i don't understand why you export with scribus 1.5.x, when you build the file with 1.4.6 and export to a file type supported with this version...

utnik

JohnJR

Hi Utnik,

I thought somewhere I saw Scribus 1.5.x in "About Scribus" and assumed it was some kind of an auto update, but going back to there now it does say 1.4.6, and it has along I bet.  The file indeed was built in 1.4.6., but knowing this does it make any difference?  Will you running it again in 1.4.6 yield for you any new clues?

If it wouldn't, would you say that it might be with my computer or OS X 10.11.6 or perhaps my original 1.4.6 download?

I did run the PDF-x-1a again a moment ago and was still getting the Arial in lieu of Baskerville viewed in Acrobat Reader.

Maybe I should just start over from scratch, but I might wind up in the same place.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

John


utnik

#17
hi john

ok. – there are strange things under the sun...

i exported your file with schribus1.4.6 and ended up without an embedded baskerville font!
after that i explored the font file with 'fontforge' and found some minor errors, but nothing related to embedding.
as a last test i generated a new 'baskerville.ttf' (just 'regular') instead of the '.ttc' which contains different cuts and weights.
with this font file scribus 1.4.6 was able to export a perfect .pdf/x-1a with an embedded baskerville font.

scribus1.5.3 can handle the '.ttc' font container, but if you use it, be aware of the development status of the software. (just use it for the .pdf export, and keep a backup of your .sla file as there's no way back to 1.4.6 if you edit/save it with 1.5.x...)

utnik

JohnJR

Hi Utink,

Thanks for checking it out.  I was beginning to feel like Chicken Little.  I too saw the .ttc designation in checking the File > Properties panel of the Acrobat Reader PDF-x-1a export.  I thought that the .ttc extension was something that Adobe had assigned to designate "Custom" when instead it had substituted Arial.ttf.  This further deepened my conspiracy theory about Adobe until I was told that Adobe couldn't manipulate the file presented to the PDF formatting process, that I would have to look within the Scribus file itself.

I chose the Baskerville (TrueType) within the text window option box itself and had no idea about either .ttc or .ttf.  I've tried to see if the text box gives me the option to add the extension .ttf and it doesn't seem to let me.  Given that Baskerville is one of the oldest type faces in existence, what can be done to add the magic .ttf to my file?

In exploring my Adobe conspiracy theory earlier, I had experimented exporting my file in PDF 1.3 and PDF 1.5 and the Baskerville sails through just fine.  I copied my .sla file over to another Mac and exported to a PDF-x-1a which still had the old Adobe Reader (red logo).  Voila, the Baskerville sailed through just fine, no Arial.  Ah-ha Adobe!  Upon closing and then opening a second time, that PDF-x-1a, the Arial had re-inserted itself.  The Arial insertion is confined to the PDF/X exports only.

Something that might help is that the PDF/X export, as opposed to other PDF exports, also markedly alters the embedded background and text colors, indeed creating two different shades of text color depending on font size.  In other words, inherent only to the PDF/X formats.

I have learned that part of this has to do with finely color "calibrating" my screen display to actually show the CMYK colors I'm choosing, however all the other exports show only a minor and consistent difference from my Scribus file while the PDF-x-1a shift is quite distorted.

Could the Baskerville-drop be related to the radical color shifts also occurring only in the PDF/X's?

Just in case you might want to examine this aspect I've attached both the CMYK icm and the RGB icm.  I have no idea why the RGB portion is even there, since all the colors are CMYK chosen from within the Properties CMYK color palettes.

Thanks,

John

[attachment deleted by admin]

utnik

hi john
Quote from: JohnJR on February 27, 2017, 08:26:17 PMGiven that Baskerville is one of the oldest type faces in existence, what can be done to add the magic .ttf to my file?

.ttc is a file wich contains different truetype font files.
if you need .ttf files, you have to extract them from the .ttc container. (i. e. with a tool like 'fontforge'...)
Quote...The Arial insertion is confined to the PDF/X exports only.

there is no 'arial insertion' – it's just a .pdf file without an embedded font file (and acrobat reader displays the missing font by a standard replacement...)
QuoteSomething that might help is that the PDF/X export, as opposed to other PDF exports, also markedly alters the embedded background and text colors...

i'm not sure, what happens here – but if the original colors are defined in rgb values, the export to .pdf/x-1a will convert them to cmyk (and moves them into the printable range, which may alter them significantly...)
QuoteCould the Baskerville-drop be related to the radical color shifts also occurring only in the PDF/X's?

no!
...but i don't really know why scribus1.4.6 refuses to embed a font frame a .ttc. i recommend either to generate .ttf fonts with fontforge or to install the latest dev release of scribus (just for the .pdf generation...)

utnik

JohnJR

Hi Utnik,

With all of the above, I think I will try installing the latest development release.  Looking around there appears to be two releases that are more or less ready: 1.5.3 and 1.5.1--that might resolve the PDF-x-1a font issue.  Is either one of these what you're recommending or something else?

Do these installs delete or override document files created in 1.4.6 or just incorporate them into the new release?

Thanks,

John

Just for fun the colors embedded in the Scribus file are all cmyk, no rbg, and it's only the PDF/X's that distort the colors; all others PDF flavors in Export do not.  I think it is unique to the X's.

utnik

hi john
Quote from: JohnJR on March 02, 2017, 10:49:13 PM...two releases that are more or less ready: 1.5.3 and 1.5.1...

when i really need a function of the 1.5 branch, i tend to the latest build from here.
QuoteDo these installs delete or override document files created in 1.4.6 or just incorporate them into the new release?

the install does nothing with your files by itself...
but be careful with the development release. it runs mostly stable, but it may have bugs – and if you save a file with scribus 1.5.x, it won't open in scribus 1.4.x any more. so you should work with a duplicate of your project.
Quote...the colors embedded in the Scribus file are all cmyk, no rbg, and it's only the PDF/X's that distort the colors...

this is strange. but without access to  the .pdf files i don't know what's going on...

utnik

JohnJR

Hi Utnik,

I've let these issues slide for the moment.  I did download the version of 1.5.x recommended for "businesses" and I'll let you know what happens when I export to PDF-x-1a from that version.  Thanks for the tip on making a copy of the book cover before opening it in the updated version.

John

JohnJR

Hi Utnik,

Many Moons ago you recommended I try a Scribus 1.5.x to solve my font problem on export to PDF-x-1a.  I finally wound up with version 1.5.2 and the cover file fonts sailed through beautifully.

Thanks,