Something looks fishy there to me. I don’t see any reference to a Linotype copyright. Maybe Dan Reynolds can fill us in?

ChrisL

Nathan, the font that you posted to first is Linotype’s Zapfino.

But the link is to a site that should not be offering it for free download! In fact, the site is full of fonts that should definitely not be there. Therefore, I have removed the link from your post.

Edit: Or maybe the font is a cheap knock-off. But their posting this would be a no no as well.

Thanks,

Should Linotype’s Zapfino One be producing PostScript errors though?

%%[ Error: ZapfinoLinotypeOne cannot be embedded because of licensing restrictions. ]%%
%%[ Font vendor (Macromedia) does not permit this font to be embedded in PDF. ]%%
%%[ Error: invalidfont; OffendingCommand: yshow ]%%

I would not trust a version of a Linotype font (or any other commercial font, for that matter) that was downloaded from any unofficial website. Who knows what sort of unlicensed modifications could have been added to it (or removed from it).

My issue is that I’m working on a job for a client, who is clueless about font licensing and such. I am not sure how the original font was procured.

I’d like to confidently be able to tell the client to purchase the real deal, (if they do not have it already), in order to be able to rip a PDF for them.

I do not want to advise the client to purchase the font, if Linotype’s original Zapfino produces similar PostScript errors. If I were a betting man, I would guess it wouldn’t - legitimately purchased fonts would/should not have such licensing restrictions.

But these 2 fonts are apparently the same, as per original opinion?

Yes, the simple solution is to purchase the font. However, I must justify such actions for the beancounters, and ensure my course of action will actually be succesful.

(Question: Not being a font author, does the Macromedia Fontographer? footprint suggest someone has modified the original Linotype Zapfino, and in the process caused this error.)

Thanks again for the help

Linotype’s fonts allow for embedding in PDFs.
For more info, see this page on the Linotype website:
http://www.linotype.com/25/fontlicensing.html

I cannot tell you what the history of the file you downloaded was. But I can tell you that it is not the same file as the PC TT version of Zapfino One that is downloadable (i.e., licensable) from the Linotype website.

It would be best if you or your client license the font. Linotype offers customer service to its customers if problems ever arise. Free font sites who offer poor-functioning files from their URLs do not.

> Question: Not being a font author, does the Macromedia Fontographer? footprint suggest someone has modified the original Linotype Zapfino, and in the process caused this error.

Linotype has always been very consistent in applying their vendor ID - “lino” to the fonts they produce - the fact that the font is being attributed to Macromedia would suggest someone has been monkeying with the font, or used FOG to convert a Type 1 version to TTF.

We’re still deleting ’naughty’ links?

> We’re still deleting ‘naughty’ links?

Seems sensible. Apart from the obvious issue of helping them improve their search rankings, and making their warez more accessible, within a few weeks the lawyers will have them shut down anyway. Who needs a dead link?

> We’re still deleting ‘naughty’ links?

I rather hope this does not become a place where people come to look for warez and suspect ’free’ fonts.

Makes me feel unclean just being in the same forum as those people.

We’re still deleting ‘naughty’ links?

Yes, we are. The following is from the Typophile Forums’ Read Me page:
“By the same token, please do not post links to sites with commercial fonts for download. If you do wish to report a site with this activity, please contact a moderator.”

“I rather hope this does not become a place where people come to look for warez and suspect ‘free’ fonts.”

People don’t have to go out of their way to find these things. Google does a fine job of finding almost anything you want.

Typophile has such a volume a traffic that it boosts the Google-rankings of almost anything that is mentioned on it.