Overview
IronPDF offers rich support for embedding fonts in PDF documents generated from HTML, ensuring accurate visual rendering across platforms. However, developers using Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit) may encounter unexpected behavior in the font type properties of the resulting PDF — specifically, fonts appearing as Type 3 instead of TrueType, even when using .ttf files.
What IronPDF Supports Today
IronPDF is built on a Chromium-based rendering engine, allowing it to render web fonts (including system fonts, Google Fonts, and self-hosted .ttf fonts) into PDFs.
-
Fonts from Google Fonts and most
.ttffiles are embedded as TrueType in the output PDF. -
Fonts are correctly rendered visually in the PDF viewer.
-
Developers can control rendering timing using
RenderDelayand other fine-tuning settings. -
When using
.ttffonts from Google Fonts, the font type in the generated PDF when checked with the PDF document properties typically appears as:
Font Type: TrueType
Workaround
Repackage the Font Using FontForge
To resolve the issue temporarily, you can regenerate the font using FontForge, an open-source font editor:
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Open the
.ttffile from Adobe Fonts in FontForge. -
Use the "Generate Fonts" option.
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Save it again as
.ttf(make sure to strip out PostScript outlines if prompted). -
Use the regenerated
.ttfin your web or HTML template rendered by IronPDF.
Result:
The output PDF will now embed the font as TrueType, resolving compatibility issues in PDF viewers.
Future Plans: Embedded Font Type Toggle
The IronPDF team is actively evaluating a feature enhancement to:
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Allow developers to toggle full font embedding or override Chromium’s default behavior when rendering fonts with PostScript outlines.
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Ensure
.ttffonts from Adobe Fonts can be embedded as TrueType when explicitly requested.
This will:
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Improve PDF compatibility across viewers
-
Support accessibility and consistent typography
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Eliminate the need for third-party tools like FontForge for this use case