Issues embedding licensed fonts & Adobe's font permissions

[FunkeXMix]

Hi all!

I wanted to create a thread where we can vent our problems and successes embedding licensed fonts. I also need some help.

Adobe Fonts

http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/le..._licenses.html

Here is a list of fonts that are marked as embeddable and editable:

http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/le..._Embedding.pdf

I have one font I want to work which is Myriad Pro Light. This font is in that list but still does not work. Perhaps it is deemed to be an installable font when used in ePubs which would prevent it from being used at all. Term installable explained here: http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/info/embedding.html

I used the normal @font-face method

CSS

@font-face {
	font-family:"Myriad Pro Light";
	font-style:normal;
	font-weight:300;
	src : url("../font/MyriadPro-Light.otf");
}

h3 {

color:#443f45;
	font-family:"Myriad Pro Light", sans-serif;
	font-size:2.083em;
	font-weight:300;
	line-height:1.2;
	font-style:normal;
	 }

content.opf contains

<item id="MyriadPro-Light.otf" href="font/MyriadPro-Light.otf" media-type="application/vnd.ms-opentype" />

META-INF folder contains file specific to enable embedded fonts in iBooks

com.apple.ibooks.display-options.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<display_options>
<platform name="*">
<option name="specified-fonts">true</option>
</platform>
</display_options>

I also have a encryption file that I THINK came from when I exported to ePub from Indesign in the beginning of my production. I am guessing this is causing the issue, I will play with it more tomorrow.

Encryption file content

<encryption xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:opendocument:xmlns:container" xmlns:enc="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#">

	<enc:EncryptedData>
		<enc:EncryptionMethod Algorithm="http://www.idpf.org/2008/embedding" />
		<enc:CipherData>
			<enc:CipherReference URI="OEBPS/font/MyriadPro-Light.otf" />
		</enc:CipherData>
	</enc:EncryptedData>
	
</encryption>

Anyone had any luck with this font or similar situations? Grateful for any help, thanks.

[JSWolf]

Remove the encryption file, replace the encrypted fonts with non-encrypted versions and done.

One important note, if this eBook is going to be read on an eInk Reader, do not use Myriad Pro Light. It's too light for eInk. It will look terrible. If this is the body font (regardless of which version), it's sans-serif and again, won't look good.

You cannot use font-weight: 300. It won't work. You can use font-weight: bold if you've also embedded the bold version.

One thing you can do to not have to encrypt the fonts is to have Calibre subset the font and use the subsetted versions of the font. Not only does it make the eBook smaller in size, it makes the fonts useless outside of that specific eBook.

[DiapDealer]

Being listed as "embeddable and/or "editable" and/or "installable" has nothing to do with whether or not the font can work (functionality-wise) when embedded in an ePub. Those various labels only deal with the legalities of doing so.

There's at least one font property (OS2 version) that if set improperly can cause the embedded font to not work in ADE renderers, but other than that ... you can get most any font (ttf or otf) to function properly when embedded. It's just a matter of whether you can legally distribute it with your ebook or not.

I do know you can't just grab any font-file and slap a random encryption.xml file in the ePub and expect it to work. The encryption file is created at the same time the font-file is obfuscated and there are very specific urn id requirements in the opf file in order for ADE based readers to properly use encrypted fonts.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Being listed as "embeddable and/or "editable" and/or "installable" has nothing to do with whether or not the font can work (functionality-wise) when embedded in an ePub. Those various labels only deal with the legalities of doing so.

There's at least one font property (OS2 version) that if set improperly can cause the embedded font to not work in ADE renderers, but other than that ... you can get most any font (ttf or otf) to function properly when embedded. It's just a matter of whether you can legally distribute it with your ebook or not.

I do know you can't just grab any font-file and slap a random encryption.xml file in the ePub and expect it to work. The encryption file is created at the same time the font-file is obfuscated and there are very specific urn id requirements in the opf file in order for ADE based readers to properly use encrypted fonts.

One thing that might work (but it's up to the owner of the font(s) is to subset the font(s). That way, you are not distributing an ePub with a full font file. What you are distributing is a font file with just the characters needed for that specific ePub. So say your ePub does not use the letter Q, the resulting font file will not have a Q in it. Not only does subsetting make the font file much smaller, it makes the font file not worth taking as it's not complete.

[GrannyGrump]

JSWolf said

have Calibre subset the font and use the subsetted versions of the font.

Please give details of how this is done. Thanks.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by grannyGrumpy

JSWolf said


Please give details of how this is done. Thanks.

What I do is take the finished ePub, load it into Calibre, convert to ePub using subsetting and then I take the font directory out of the converted ePub, replace the font directory in the finished ePub, fix the CSS/OPF as needed to match the fonts and done. Now I have an much smaller ePub with subsetted fonts. Also, don't forget to validate the finale finished ePub (I use FlightCrew) to make sure I didn't make a mistake editing the CSS/OPF (if I have to edit them).

[GrannyGrump]

Ah, wonderfully easy. I haven't upgraded my Calibre for months, didn't know it could do this. Thank you for sharing.