Enfocus, the leader in automation and creator of PitStop, the PDF preflight and editing standard, gives PitStop Pro 12 and PitStop Server 12 sites the option to connect to the new Monotype Baseline platform, a new cloud-based service solution, when missing fonts are detected. Licensing the font for a special introductory rate of $1.49 per font, per document, permits embedding of the font in the file, thereby allowing it to pass preflight and print successfully. As part of the terms of the agreement, Enfocus currently has exclusive rights to offer the Monotype solution for use in preflight.

Veteran production consultant comments

Seattle-based PDF production consultant Matt Beals, who integrates the full range of graphic arts products for companies all over the world, says, "The font embedding from an online source, and no less the ultimate typeface provider, Monotype, was an ingenious move on Enfocus’ part. With the new color functionality and faster processing you can actually ‘feel’, PitStop 12 was already shaping up to be the most important upgrade of the solution in years. Now I may change my stance – the addition of Monotype font embedding in PitStop 12 might make this one of the most valuable software upgrades for the entire industry, this year! You might say I’m impressed.”  

“Missing fonts is cited in survey after survey, year after year for well over ten years, as one of the biggest obstacles to timely PDF production,” says Andrew Bailes-Collins, Senior Product Manager for the PitStop family at Enfocus. “Speaking on behalf of 130,000 worldwide companies and individuals who use PitStop to preflight and correct PDFs, we thank Monotype for working with us to finally conquer the problem.” Bailes-Collins further says that an agreement between Enfocus and Monotype marries the best of what both companies have to offer, to resolve a long lasting problem. “Enfocus PitStop can check a PDF file and find out if any fonts are not embedded, and Monotype has a very large collection of fonts. Together we are finally resolving the problem of missing fonts.”  

The Enfocus-Monotype advantage

• Uses actual fonts (not substitutions or emulations) from over 30,000 available at the time of this writing. (More will be made available from Monotype’s 150,000 font product collection, based on user demand.)
• Highly cost-effective
• Reduces delays and missed deadlines
• Eliminates requests for revised PDF files
• Competitive advantage
• Manual or automatic operation
• Improves customer satisfaction

Font types include Open Type and TrueType formats. Asian fonts are available in either TrueType or OpenType CFF formats.

Missing font problem returns to forefront in short-run era

Bailes-Collins says that the missing font problem has experienced a resurgence since short run and quick turn-around requirements have increased pressure on production. “While everything else became more streamlined and automated, we had this same-old issue with missing fonts, which made customers feel like they were stuck in the 90s. It was time to move on, and so we recruited Monotype – who else? – for the job.”

The patent-pending service from Monotype is only available through Enfocus and its OEM partners at this time. “Enfocus is a remarkable advocate for the marketplace,” says Joe Roberts, Vice President and General Manager, Printer Imaging, at Monotype. “We thank Andrew Bailes-Collins and the Enfocus team for coming to us with an idea that we believe will have tremendous, positive impact.”

How PitStop 12 customers can use the service

PitStop Pro 12 and PitStop Server 12 will work as previous PitStop versions do, in checking PDFs for missing fonts, and sourcing those fonts if they are available on the local computer. In those cases, if the font is available and the user enables the option, the local font will be embedded into the PDF file. In PitStop 12, however, the trail doesn’t end if the missing font is not available locally. PitStop version 12 operators now have the option of checking if the missing font is available on the Monotype Baseline platform. If the missing font is available and if the user allows it, the font will be downloaded and embedded within the PDF document.

The Monotype Baseline platform is accessible after users set up an account. They are charged an introductory rate of $1.49 per font, per document; whether the PDF is a single page, or a 1000+ page document. Purchased fonts will be documented in PitStop preflight reports, and in the user account history with Monotype.

PitStop 12: a milestone upgrade

Enfocus Vice President Fabian Prudhomme says that the agreement with Monotype is “the crowning achievement on the most important PitStop family update in years. “Enfocus PitStop customers are clear about their needs,” Prudhomme says. “Leaving PitStop to make image edits in external editing applications was a burden; so we put comparable tools inside of PitStop 12. PitStop Server users also have use of Adobe’s transparency flattening engine and 64-bit processing for faster, more robust memory access. Now, with the Monotype Baseline platform, we’re bringing customers the spoils of the biggest, longest battle on the PDF production front: missing fonts. We’ve won.”