hello utnik,
thanks for the quick reply. my settings are the same you suggest (so, I'm embedding the fonts). and the problem occurs. With these settings, scribus 1.4.2 on windows 7 produces correct pdfs.
again, the pdf misvisualization occurs with acrobat reader on windows (generic, not win 8 specfic), and on win 8 the system pdf viewer (not acrobat reader) reads them right.
It should be something in (win 8 -> producing pdf) and (acrobat reader viewing them), but I've no idea of what.
HTH
/gp