[FIXED] Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

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nabsltd
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[FIXED] Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by nabsltd »

I have an HP Color LaserJet M533dn, and fonts saved with FontCreator don't print correctly:
PrintedFontBug.jpg
PrintedFontBug.jpg (85.25 KiB) Viewed 7560 times
This is Adobe's Garamond Premier Pro using the font file as it came from Adobe, and the font file created by FontCreator 10.0 after opening the original .OTF then saving it with no changes. I'm using Windows 7 64-bit, and this happens with any application that can change the font (Microsoft Word, Notepad, etc.). Even MainType 7.0:
MainTypeToo.jpg
MainTypeToo.jpg (152.28 KiB) Viewed 7560 times
Again, all I am doing is opening the font file, exporting as OTF with the default settings (OpenType CFF, Use OpenType layout features: Yes), then installing/loading the font with MainType. This is a fairly modern printer, and the PostScript emulation on it is very good, so there must be something about the exported file that isn't exactly right. Note that this bug does not occur when using the PCL6 driver, so whatever translates PostScript outlines to PCL6 fonts doesn't use whatever is bugged.

This did not happen with fonts saved using FontCreator 8.0, but I upgraded straight from 8.0 to 10.0, so I can't say when the bug was introduced.
Erwin Denissen
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by Erwin Denissen »

This is really strange.

I assume you tested with FontCreator 10.1?

Can you send us the file for testing purposes?
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MikeW
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by MikeW »

Can you create a proper pdf with the font?
nabsltd
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by nabsltd »

Erwin Denissen wrote:I assume you tested with FontCreator 10.1?
No, I hadn't, but now I've spent a lot more time on this to rule out some things.

Since a project saved with 10.0 and then re-opened with 10.1 opens much faster than the original CFF font file in 10.1, I tried that. When I did, I found out that 10.1 would save essentially the same file as 10.0 when exporting...just a few bytes different in size, so it looks like all the fancy new precision that takes all the time when opening a file is completely unused when opening an old project. So, I had to wait out the open (110 minutes...yes, that's nearly 2 hours), and the error is still there.

I also installed 10.0 and 10.1 on a completely different machine (Windows Server 2012, which is essentially Windows 8) to see if it was just my desktop machine, but the results were bit-for-bit identical, with the exception of the save date/time information stored in the file, so that was another 2 hours wasted.
Can you send us the file for testing purposes?
The original OTF plus the file saved from FontCreator (both 10.0 and 10.1) are attached. The first thing you can see is that the 10.0 saved file is about 3x as large, and the 10.1 file is even larger. Even with a complete re-build of all the outlines (which shouldn't happen at all), the file shouldn't grow that much. PostScript curves are relatively simple data structures...I know you have to do a lot to display them and allow us to move the points around, but what gets saved on disk shouldn't change at all if no points on a glyph have been moved.

You should be able to test yourself with the original file and any HP printer in PostScript mode...I first found the bug when printing to an LaserJet 1200, and blamed it on the age of the printer, but that's obviously not the case.

[removed the attachment for possible copyright infringement]
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by Erwin Denissen »

All fonts print just fine here. We're using a HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M476dw.

I'm clueless about how we can further test this issue.
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by Erwin Denissen »

Can you try to export a font with the latest version, and let us know your results?
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nabsltd
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by nabsltd »

Erwin Denissen wrote:All fonts print just fine here. We're using a HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M476dw.
The default driver for HP printers is the PCL6 driver. That is what is installed if you use Windows Update or "find a driver on the Internet" to install. As I said, this driver works fine. Only the PostScript driver is a problem. To use the PostScript driver, you must install the "HP Universal Printing", and then choose a PostScript driver.
Erwin Denissen wrote:Can you try to export a font with the latest version, and let us know your results?
I already did...read the post again. I attached fonts exported from both 10.0 and 10.1. Ah, I see you meant the latest service pack. It still has the same issue.

Still, none of this addresses the fact that a font that is loaded into FontCreator and then saved with no changes at all has a much larger filesize. This must mean that the outlines are being messed with somehow, which is absolutely not an expected outcome for no change. It also means that for changes that don't affect outlines (like name, copyright, PANOSE), other changes are being done behind the curtain.
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by Erwin Denissen »

nabsltd wrote:This did not happen with fonts saved using FontCreator 8.0, but I upgraded straight from 8.0 to 10.0, so I can't say when the bug was introduced.
nabsltd wrote: The default driver for HP printers is the PCL6 driver. That is what is installed if you use Windows Update or "find a driver on the Internet" to install. As I said, this driver works fine. Only the PostScript driver is a problem. To use the PostScript driver, you must install the "HP Universal Printing", and then choose a PostScript driver.
I'll contact you to see if we can find and solve the problem together.
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by Erwin Denissen »

The problem will be solved with the next upcoming maintenance release. We expect to make it available later today!
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by Erwin Denissen »

We released a new version yesterday which solves the problem. Do let us know your results as well, to confirm it. Thank you!
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nabsltd
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Re: Exported font with FontCreator causes errors when printing

Post by nabsltd »

Erwin Denissen wrote:We released a new version yesterday which solves the problem. Do let us know your results as well, to confirm it. Thank you!
This did solve the problem, but I've posted another bug related to this.
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