: Should I rasterize or expand fonts in Illustrator for sending files to print? When preparing art work in Illustrator, is it better to rasterize texts, fonts or expand them? I'm trying to discover,

@Angie364

Coming from working in BOTH the design-side and in pre-press I would almost NEVER expand fonts and most certainly NEVER EVER rasterize fonts.

Unless you are working from Photoshop for some reason you lose a lot of quality when you rasterize vs. working in vector. Simply just exporting to a PDF will be sufficient in most if not all cases since by default you can have it embed fonts.

However, unless you are sending 100% print-ready, imposed, properly bled and cut marked art 9/10 as a pre-press I will have to touch your file and manipulate it. So I would just package the file with source fonts and source art file not just the pdf. InDesign handles this nicely as does Illustrator with their built-in package options.



It should be noted that I completely disagree with LateralTerminal's answer on principle. Most printers have access to UTC, or other TypeKits like Adobe so finding MOST fonts shouldn't be an issue if there are error on embedded fonts. And if that fails there's always the internet.

I can't express how annoying and how huge of a time-sink it is when I open a file and the text is jacked up or I have to make changes to fit it to a medium to print or resize the whole piece and the text is expanded. Now I have to waste more time and RE-typeset the text to get it done.

I firmly believe that you should NEVER expand text for "file size" saving purposes, there are numerous ways to save on file space without ruining the editability of a file.

A few ways are:


Optimize your layer structure
Delete extraneous elements that aren't being used in the final art
Reduce raster dpi from 300 to 120
Use Acrobat's Optimize PDF dialogue


Now the only time(s) in my opinion you should expand text is if you are using a lot of specific effects or filters that your printer might have issues with or they might not have access to. This ensures that your final design can be printed as your envisioned it without compromise.

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@Kevin459

Expand text

If you ever have to send it to pre-press where colors might need to be manipulated expanding still gives pre-press options. Expanding also creates a smaller file size so it can be easier to email.

Make sure you keep an editable copy lying too around so your client can make additional changes if they need to in the future.

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@Caterina889

Neither option is often mandatory.

For print production save as a PDF/X-1a and the fonts are embedded in the PDF as live type with all the benefits associated with live type.

If one can not send font files along with the Illustrator file, such as client deliverables, then creating outlines of the type is always preferable over rasterization. Although, in general terms, a PDF should be sufficient for client delivery in most instances as well. The only exception I can think of is logo development, in which case you would outline type always once the design has been finalized.

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