We still receive new files as well as older files with faux styles fonts. In the past, faux styles are known to drop out or mysteriously revert to plain text. We do everything we can to fix them, but some old postscripts fonts simply doesn't include real bold or italic.
So is this still an issue with current PDF workflow or new versions of InDesign and Quark? Can anyone confirm this has been resolved?
This issue has never existed with InDesign: since the first release 1.0 of ID, you can use only the styles that exist in the font... so, no issue in PDF.
The problem is different with XPress: Xpress allows the use of faux styles, but managed them differently, depending of the font and the XPress releases...
Whatever the releases, faux styles always work on screen display and with non-PostScript printers...
... but with PostScript printing, 3 cases are possible:
1- the desired faux style exists in the font as a real style, then XPress replaces the faux style by the real style of the font, and output the text correctly.
For example, an HelveticaRegular "bolded" will be output using HelveticaBold and an Helvetica "italicized" will output using the HelveticaOblique...
2- the style doesn't exist in the font, but something exists that is nearly the same... then XPress replaces the faux style by the nearest style of the font, and output the text with a style that can be correct, or that can be a complete fantasy.
For example, an HelveticaBold "bolded" will output correctly using an HelveticaBlack...
But a BauhausMedium "bolded" can output using a BauhausDemi or a BauhausBold...
3- the style doesn't exist in the font, and nothing exists that is nearly the same:
• XPress 3.x, 4 and 5 cancels the faux style and output the text with the normal font.
For example, an HelveticaOblique "italicized" will stay an HelveticaOblique...
and an HelveticaBlack "bolded" will stay an HelveticaBlack
and a BauhausMedium "italicized" will stay straight.
• XPress 6, 7, 8
builts the style artificially!!!:
- bold by adding an outline around the glyphs, with a thickness calculated from the size of the text
(opening a .PS files in Illustrator allows to see the added outline to the base style: for example, a BauhausHeavy 72 pt is bolded by Xpress 7 with a 2.16 pt outline)
- italic by skewing the glyphs about 12 degrees to the right.
With PDF, AFAIK :
• artificialy built styles give no issue:
- the outline (used for bold) is a feature perfectly handled by PostScript and PDF, and the automatic outline added by XPress 6-7-8 for bolding the glyphs is not different than a manually added outline with InDesign or Illustrator... so, no issue.
- the skewing (used for italic) is not a parameter added to straight text, no... Xpress just skews the glyphs... exactly like the Illustrator distorsion tool does. Again, this feature is perfectly handled by PostScript and PDF, again no issue.
• faux styles replaced by the exact style of the font work in PDF like with any other PostScript printer: fine in most cases, but with surprises sometimes...
• faux styles replaced by the nearest style of the font work in PDF like with any other PostScript printer: result is unpredictable...