Font subsetting – how it works and when to use

In order to reduce the file size PDF producers use a technique called font subsetting. What does exactly happen with the fonts and what are the consequences?

If a PDF creator software adds text to a page description then it refers to a font. The font contains a collection of characters with a description of their graphic appearance called glyphs, metrics and other relevant information to render the text. There exist various types of font formats which can be used in a PDF document such as Type 1, TrueType, CFF and OpenType fonts.

Read more about font subsetting in our Expert blog.