Fonts Not Embedded: Blocker – Home

Message received: Fonts are not embedded: Helvetica, Helvetica-Bold. (The details change to match your file.)

Alert level: Blocker. This blocker stops printing. The file cannot continue until it is fixed.

Applies to: Interior and cover files.

Meaning

Your PDF uses fonts that are not stored inside the file. Printing needs those fonts to show your text exactly as designed. If they are missing, the system may swap in a different font, which can change the look, spacing, and line breaks of your text. The font names in the message tell you which fonts to fix.

Common fonts that are not embedded: Helvetica, Times, Courier, and Arial are often left out of PDFs because many apps assume every computer already has them. Printing does not make that assumption, so they still need to be embedded.

The same page with fonts embedded and with fonts swapped, showing changed letter shapes and text running outside its box.

Necessary actions

Note the font names listed in the message.
Re-export your PDF with all fonts embedded:
- InDesign: File → Export → Adobe PDF (Print). Fonts embed automatically unless the font licence restricts it.
- Illustrator: When saving as PDF, set Subset fonts when percent of characters used is less than to 100%.
- Word: File → Save As → PDF → Options, tick ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A), and untick Bitmap text when fonts may not be embedded. [Test before publishing.]
- Canva: Download as PDF Print. [Test before publishing.]
To check the result in Acrobat, open File → Properties → Fonts. Each font should say Embedded or Embedded Subset.

Screenshot to capture (team): Acrobat, File → Properties → Fonts tab, showing fonts marked "Embedded Subset".
Save as: FAQ_FONTSEMBEDDED_02_acrobat-document-fonts-list.png

If a font will not embed, its licence may not allow it. Use a different font, or convert the text to outlines before exporting.
Upload the new file. Preflight will check it again automatically.

Can I proceed without fixing it?

No. This is a blocker. Fix the file and upload it again.

Still need help? Email our support team at filesupport@acutrack.com and include your Artwork number with the alert. We will be happy to take a look.