Risk

Screen-reader software for the blind and other programs misinterpret the content/ text in PDF files.

Issues

  • Fonts are sold with different encoding script packages.

  • The ability to type a specific font does not guarantee the font contains the necessary encoding scripts for the language being used.

  • Software programs cannot read characters if the font does not have all the necessary encoding scripts (e.g. mg = £®).

Example

Solution

Do:

✅ Purchase the “Pro” version of a font.

✅ Check the supporting scripts when purchasing a font.

✅ Purchase all the required scripts.

✅ Check the scripts that come with a font every time you switch languages and fonts.

✅ Standardize on fonts used for each language.

Don’t:

❌ Use fonts that support only a limited number of scripts.

Tips

The following steps detail how to validate a font with Apple Font Book:

  • Open Font Book.

  • Select the font in question from the font list.

  • Click on File and select Validate Font.

  • Check the validation results.