A PDF file made from Microsoft Office or Windows may not look right because of an ongoing PDF bug with variable fonts. It’s been around for years with no sign of a fix.
The problem arises when variable fonts are in documents exported to PDFs (either Save As … or Print to PDF). The font you see in the doc, sheet or slide might not look the same in a PDF version. Making a PDF from Office – Save or Print?
We noted this PDF display problem back in 2021 when variable fonts were introduced. In our tests at the time, only Save As to PDF had display problems but other reports show troubles with Print to PDF as well. An Office Watch reader, Tim D., reminded us when he struck the same problem recently.
Variable fonts are a way to bundle many variants (bold, italic etc) into a single and smaller font file. The first variable font from Microsoft was Bahnscrift. Modern Windows and Microsoft Office support variable fonts. They appear in the font list along with other types of font (TrueType and OpenType).
The PDF with variable font problem
Adobe’s PDF format doesn’t support variable fonts or, at least, the support isn’t 100% reliable. As a result, another font will be substituted in the PDF version even if the ‘Bitmap ….’ option is on (it defaults on). There’s NO warning when a font substitution is done (grrrr).
The problem seems to be with the software making the PDF. According to some online reports, the variable font should be converted to a matching static font for the PDF, but that conversion isn’t always done properly.
Always check a PDF to make sure it looks like the original document. That’s a wise move whether you’re using variable fonts or not.
Workaround for PDFs with variable fonts
Instead of variable fonts, look for the traditional or static font versions. In other words, a separate font file for each font variant.
For most Google Font downloads there’s a folder labelled ‘static’ which has each of the font variants. Uninstall the variable font and replace with those individual fonts. Open the document etc., make sure the fonts appear OK then make the PDF again.
That will let the PDF conversion to use whatever individual font variant it needs.
Variable fonts are great but…
Variable fonts are a great idea but not while they still have compatibility issues.
If you make a lot of PDFs, it might be wise to stick with static font files (when available) until Microsoft and Adobe sort themselves out.
What’s so special about the Bahnschrift font?
Why Windows 10 Variable fonts are important
