Get Ready For Adobe's End Of Support For PostScript Fonts With Connect Fonts And Connect Assets

In case you haven’t already heard, Adobe will discontinue support for PostScript Type 1 fonts in January of 2023. You may be thinking, “well, that’s too bad for PostScript Type 1 fonts. I hope they can find somewhere else to call home, but that doesn’t affect me, right?”

This change poses potentially massive challenges for creatives of all stripes. The issue isn’t so much that you won’t be able to use PostScript Type1 fonts in future projects — the issue is that every single creative asset from ancient history until now that contains those fonts, is going to really act up when you try and use it. We’ve all gotten that dreaded “missing fonts” notification. There’s the potential for a whole lot of that and ensuing busywork for a whole slew or creative files once this change takes effect.

If only, if only, there was some technology out there that could handle both creative assets and fonts — Oh snap, there is!

In a nutshell, our Extensis Connect platform is one solution with two components — Connect Fonts (a desktop and cloud-based font management solution for organizing, activating, sharing, and finding the perfect font) and Connect Assets (a cloud-based DAM tool that helps you manage all your creative and brand assets in a single, accessible location). Extensis Connect may also be the answer to your PostScript woes.

There are a few different ways you can handle this challenge in Connect Assets.

Identifying PostScript Type 1 Fonts in Creative and Brand Files With Connect Assets

1. Sign in to Connect Assets.
2. Are all your relevant assets here? If not, import or upload them now. Now you’re ready to see which ones contain PostScript fonts.
3. Type “PostScript” into the search bar (you don’t really need to capitalize it like that, we’re just being fancy).
4. Documents will provide a list of all PostScript fonts used in each document. If you don’t have Connect Fonts, go to Step 4. If you do have Connect Fonts, go to Step 5.
5. 5. Create a new Library and quickly bucket all PostScript-affected documents.
   If you have a Connect Assets subscription and a Connect Fonts subscription, you could continue from step 3 by manually tagging the documents.
6. Select a font label, and Connect Assets will immediately open Connect Fonts and take you to that font in the library. You can then select impacted documents and create a new library for all files that need to be worked on.

Isolating PostScript Type 1 Fonts With Connect Fonts

1. Open the desktop application.
2. Go to Search, and Click on “Advanced Search”
3. Use Advanced search to locate fonts by “Type.” Select “PostScript.”
4. Create a new set or library to isolate these fonts without disrupting libraries that your teammates are working with, using whichever next step you prefer:
   
   1. To create a new Set, Select all fonts from your search results, then right click and choose the “New set from selection” option.
   2. To isolate fonts in a library, create a new Library, then drag and drop your search results into the library.

Unfortunately, there’s still no magic button that will do all the font substitution and design editing work for you. It’s just like when I bought that portable carpet and upholstery steam cleaning machine, only to realize it still required elbow grease…sigh.

However, you can use these techniques to lay out a blueprint for action! Whether you choose to tackle the affected files in a cold brew-powered weekend, or piece by piece over several months, it’s up to you and your personal work style. We hope you can use these tools to get ahead of the issue and ring in the new year with everything prepped, edited, and ready to go.

Feel like you need a little more guidance in prepping for the Fontpocalypse? Our experts know everything there is to know about font management and creative workflows. They can help you use these tools alongside tried and true techniques to streamline and optimize your strategy for removing PostScript Type 1 fonts. Reach out to us!