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KB0084: Why are my embedded fonts not working?

See also:
Working with embedded fonts in the Jutoh manual
Why are fonts not working when viewed on an actual device?
Why does Kindlegen complain about PostScript in my embedded OTF fonts?

You need to follow the instructions in Working with embedded fonts in the Jutoh manual very carefully. In particular, make sure that the name of the font family in the font document corresponds to a font name that you use either within styles, or in the Font substitutions configuration property. The case (capitalisation) of the name is significant. If the names don't match, then the ereader is not going to be able to figure out which font to use. Check and check again! You can also view the CSS file with Book | Examine since it may make it easier to see what fonts have been specified in various CSS definitions.

The syntax of Font substitutions is of the form NameUsedInContent:EmbeddedFontName. Where the first name is found in content and styles throughout your book, it will be translated to the second name (the names used in the embedded font documents). Separate multiple substitutions with semicolons. EmbeddedFontName can actually include multiple names, separated by commas, which the book will use to try different fonts to find one that's available on the device.

For example, if you use the font Calibri in your styles, then either the Family value in your embedded font document(s) must be Calibri, or if it says instead calibri, then you must specify Calibri:calibri in Font substitutions for all relevant configurations. The easiest thing in this case is to simply change calibri to Calibri in the font document(s) instead.

If you have several font documents for a given font, each responsible for different variations of the font (such as bold or bold and italic), then you must have the same font family name in each. Make sure you edit the drop-down controls to describe the font variations so that the ereader will use the correct font for different styles.

Jutoh will check whether any of the font names in the embedded font documents are in fact not referenced throughout your book (and not mentioned in Font substitutions), and warn you if not. This should make it easier to diagnose embedded font problems.

Here's a handy checklist for you to use:

  1. Go to the font document(s) under the Resources folder. Does the Family value match either the fonts used by the project, or specified in the Font substitutions option? Are you sure? Maybe the names only differ by spaces.

  2. Are you actually using the font in styles within the text? You can set it in either character styles or paragraph styles. For example, you could specify the style in the Normal paragraph style to apply the embedded font to all text that uses Normal (or styles that are based on Normal).

  3. If bold and italic text isn't showing with the desired font, are you setting the Style and Weight correctly in your font documents?

  4. Do all the relevant configurations have the configuration option Embed fonts checked?

  5. Are you testing the file with an app that doesn't support embedded fonts? For example, Moon+ Reader for Android doesn't support them. Tolino for iOS doesn't support them, while Tolino for Android does. Try with several readers, such as Adobe Digital Editions, Bluefire Reader, and Apple Books.

  6. Is the font's licence restricted? If you show the property details of the font file in Windows Explorer or suitable font editor utility, it might say Font embeddability: Restricted. This could cause the font not to be displayed.

  7. Try replacing the embedded font with a different font but the same name, and see if that works. If so, there's a problem with the original font. Or, export the font to disk and see if can be installed in your operating system - if it's corrupt, the font won't be recognised. Or maybe it's just a font that ereaders have trouble with, for some reason - try using an alternative font.

  8. Are you trying to use embedded fonts for the whole book and then preview it using the online Kindle previewer? The online previewer doesn't like you using embedded fonts for body text and will strip the fonts out if you do that. Using embedded fonts sparingly, for example in headings, does tend to work.

  9. Did you email your Kindle book to your or someone else's device? This will strip out any embedded fonts and the Publisher Fonts option won't be shown in the device settings for the book. You need to use a cable to transfer the book to your e-Ink device, or alternatively download it from the web for an Android device, or on an iOS device, use a USB cable and iTunes after exporting as AZK from Kindle Previewer 3.

  10. Did you use custom CSS? If so, perhaps you got the name wrong within the CSS code. Jutoh replaces spaces with underscores and adds a "P_" prefix for paragraph styles or a "C_" prefix for character styles.

  11. Are you using the configuration option Obfuscate fonts? Not all ereaders know how to decrypt obfuscated fonts. For example, it may work on Adobe Digital Editions (Epub 2 only, on Windows) and Apple Books, but fail for Kindle, Kobo and AZARDI, amongst others.


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