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Every font in the PDF,and whether it is embedded.

A typeface left out of the file gets substituted at the printer, and the stand-in rarely matches. ProofSlip lists each font with its type, subset tag and pages, and fails the PDF when one that paints visible text is missing.

A font list with an Embedded column, the pages using each font, and a FAIL for any used font missing from the file. ProofSlip never embeds fonts.

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One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

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Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Full ProofSlip overview
One-time purchase No telemetry Local-first

windows · one-page pass or fail · original never written · nothing uploads

If this sounds like your week

A missing typeface only shows on someone else's computer.

On the designer's machine the brochure looks right, because the typeface is installed there. On the printer's system that same document asks for a typeface it does not carry, the software substitutes something close, and line breaks shift, characters change width, and a headline wraps onto a second line. No warning appeared earlier, because the machine that produced the export was also the machine that displayed it.

Where tooling usually breaks

Font dialogs show names but not consequences.

Many PDF readers have a Fonts tab in document properties. It shows names and an embedded label, but not which pages rely on each entry, whether a listed typeface actually draws anything, or whether the artwork should be held back. On a long catalog merged from several exports, one absent face can repeat dozens of times, and reading those entries line by line is exactly where an omission slips past.

Where ProofSlip lands

Fonts judged by whether they actually draw text.

ProofSlip separates fonts that paint visible text from ones merely declared in resources. A used font with no embedded program is a FAIL naming it and its pages, including the standard 14 base fonts. A declared font that draws nothing becomes an INFO note. Invisible OCR text in a scan does not count, so a searchable scan is not failed for its hidden layer. Identical copies merge into one row instead of repeating per page.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Learn more about ProofSlip

windows · one-page pass or fail · original never written · nothing uploads

What you get

Feature highlights

One verdict, every finding graded

a single PASS or FAIL at the top, with each finding marked FAIL, WARN or INFO and the pages it affects, so the warnings are read as well as the verdict.

Fonts with the pages that use them

every font with its type, subset tag and embedding, and a FAIL when a font that paints visible text is not embedded, including the standard 14 base fonts.

Image ppi where it is placed

effective ppi for every placement, measured from the page itself and sorted lowest first, failing color and grayscale images below 150 ppi and 1-bit images below 300.

Trim, bleed and page size

size from the trim box or media box, named sizes such as A4 and Letter, and bleed on each side in millimeters, with a warning under 3 mm.

Color spaces page by page

Gray, RGB, CMYK, Lab and spot colors with their pages, every spot name and the output intent; RGB and Lab are warnings, and nothing is converted.

A report you can send, and an untouched original

a one-page PDF report or an HTML report saved as a new file, while the source PDF is opened read-only, never written, and nothing uploads.

Especially when

  • Check a client PDF for unembedded fonts, low-resolution images, RGB color and missing bleed on a Windows PC without uploading it
  • See the effective ppi of every placed image in a PDF instead of measuring each one by hand
  • Send a client a one-page report that names each problem and the pages it affects
  • Preflight print files without paying for professional prepress software or a PDF editor subscription

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

A catalog merged from many exports

A shop receives a 40-page catalog assembled from separate department files. Somewhere in the merge a few sections were exported with a font left out, and nobody knows which ones.

The Fonts table lists the missing font once, with the pages that use it, and the FAIL finding names the same pages. The shop sends the report back so the client exports only those sections again.

A scanned contract with a hidden text layer

An office scans a signed contract and adds a searchable text layer before sending it to be printed. That layer uses a font that is not embedded, which a plain font list would flag.

The OCR text is drawn in an invisible mode, so ProofSlip does not count the font as used. It shows as an INFO note, declared but not used, and the file is judged on what actually prints.

Business cards set in a base font

A small business sends business cards whose address line uses one of the standard 14 base fonts, exported without embedding because the export tool assumed every viewer supplies it.

ProofSlip lists the font as "No, Standard 14" and fails the file with rule F-01. The designer turns on font embedding in the export settings and checks the new PDF before sending it.

Deep dive

How PDF font embedding works, and what ProofSlip counts as used

What embedding means. A PDF can carry the font program itself, with the outline of every glyph it needs, or it can carry only the font's name and expect the computer that opens the file to supply the rest. Embedded fonts travel with the file. Named-only fonts depend on whatever is installed where the file is opened or printed. For print, every font that draws text should be embedded.

Subsets. Most exports embed only the characters a document actually uses. A subset carries a six-letter tag and a plus sign in front of its name, such as ABCDEF+ followed by the font name. A subset counts as embedded. ProofSlip shows the tag in its own Subset column, so you can tell a subset from a full copy, which matters mostly if someone needs to edit the text later.

Font types. ProofSlip reads Type 1, TrueType, Type 0 (CID) and Type 3 fonts and looks for the font program in the place each type keeps it. Type 3 fonts draw their glyphs with drawing commands stored in the file itself, so they are reported as embedded, with glyphs in file.

Used versus declared. A font listed in a page's resources but never used to paint text is declared, not used. ProofSlip counts a font as used only when a text operator paints with it in a visible mode, on a page, inside a form placed on that page, or in a printable annotation. A missing font that is only declared is an INFO note. A missing font that paints text is a FAIL, with the font name and the pages in the message.

The standard 14 fonts. PDF defines 14 base fonts that viewers are expected to provide. Files that rely on them often display correctly, but the version supplied by the printer's system may not match the one used to lay out the text, so ProofSlip treats them like any other missing font, fails the file, and notes Standard 14 in the message.

What ProofSlip will not do. It does not embed fonts, convert text to outlines, or rewrite the file. Embedding has to happen where the PDF is made: turn on font embedding in the export or print settings of the application that made it, or ask the client for a new export. Then open the new file in ProofSlip and check again. The report is a check, not a fix.

Known gaps. Text in an optional layer that is switched off can still mark a font as used, and the glyph drawings inside Type 3 fonts are not inspected. Both cases lean toward listing a font, not hiding one.

How it is built

Built to read the file and leave it alone.

Read-only by design

The PDF is opened read-only through the Windows file picker and never written. Reports are new files, and saving over the file being checked is refused.

Nothing leaves your PC

ProofSlip runs in a Windows app container with no network capability. There is no account and no telemetry. One-time purchase in the Microsoft Store.

A check, not a fix

It reports what the file contains and declares. It does not embed fonts, convert color, resample images or flatten, and it does not validate PDF/X.

Head-to-head

How ProofSlip compares

Feature ProofSlip PDF reader font tab Command-line font listing
Embedded or not, per font Yes, with the type and subset tag Yes, as a label next to each name Yes, in a text table
Pages that use each font Yes, in the Used on column — Per page range you ask for
Separates used from declared fonts Yes; only fonts that paint visible text can fail — —
Verdict for the file FAIL when a used font is not embedded — —
Report to send back One-page PDF or HTML report — Text you copy by hand

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

How do I check if fonts are embedded in a PDF?

Open the file's font list. In many PDF readers it sits under Document Properties on a Fonts tab, where embedded fonts are labeled Embedded or Embedded Subset. In ProofSlip, choose Open PDF, pick the file, and read the Fonts table: the Embedded column says Yes or No for each font, and the Used on column lists its pages. Any font that draws text and is not embedded is a FAIL finding.

Does an embedded subset count as embedded?

Yes. A subset holds only the characters the document uses, which keeps the file small, and it prints the same as a full copy. ProofSlip shows the six-letter subset tag in the Subset column and reports the font as embedded. A subset only becomes a limitation when someone needs to edit the text and type characters the subset does not contain.

Can ProofSlip embed the missing font for me?

No. It reads the file and reports, and it never edits the PDF. Embedding has to happen where the PDF is made: turn on font embedding in the PDF export or print settings of the app that made the file, or ask the client for a new export with fonts embedded. Then open the new PDF in ProofSlip and confirm that the Embedded column reads Yes for every font that is used.

Does a PASS mean the file will print as intended?

No. A PASS means ProofSlip found no failing finding: every font that draws text is embedded, no image is below the fail limits, and every page could be read. RGB color and thin or missing bleed are warnings, so read them too. ProofSlip does not render pages, so it cannot see artwork that stops short of the bleed, text too close to the trim, overprint, transparency or ink build-up, and it does not validate PDF/X conformance. Your printer's spec sheet has the final word.

Will ProofSlip change my PDF?

No. The PDF is opened read-only and is never written. ProofSlip is a check, not a fix: it does not embed fonts, convert color, resample images, add bleed or flatten anything. Each report is saved as a new file with a suggested name such as brochure-proofslip.pdf. If you pick the PDF being checked as the destination, ProofSlip refuses with a message that it is the file being checked, so the original cannot be overwritten by mistake.

Does anything leave my PC, and how do I get ProofSlip?

Nothing uploads. ProofSlip has no account and no telemetry, and it runs in a Windows app container that declares no network capability. It reads only the PDF you pick in the Windows Open dialog and writes only the report you save. It runs on Windows 10 version 2004 or later and on Windows 11, on x64 and ARM64 PCs. ProofSlip is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store, and the Store gives you a 15-day free trial of the full app, so you can check your own files before you buy.

Related pages

A preflight check for client PDFs, run on this PC. The resolution that matters is the one on the page. RGB, CMYK or spot? See what each page uses.

The PDF looks fine on screen.
Check it before the press does.

ProofSlip reads a client PDF on your PC and reports embedded fonts, page size, trim and bleed boxes, color spaces and effective image resolution, with one PASS or FAIL and a report you can send. It is a check, not a fix, and nothing uploads.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Open full product page

Technical specifications

Technical specifications for procurement

Spec Implementation
Data Sovereignty Reads only the PDF you pick in the Windows Open dialog, read-only; writes only the report you save as a new file; the Recent list (up to 20 files) and window size stay in the app’s own settings on this PC
Telemetry Status None; no account, no analytics, and no crash upload (a local error log keeps error types only, never file names or contents)
Core Runtime .NET 10 and WinUI 3 (Windows App SDK), packaged as MSIX; runs in an AppContainer that declares no capabilities
Network Requirements Fully functional offline; no network capability is declared, and the app makes no network connections
Deployment Compatibility Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, x64 and ARM64; one-time purchase on the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial
Checks Embedded fonts, page size and named size, trim and bleed boxes with bleed per side, color spaces with spot names and output intent, and effective image resolution per placement
Verdict FAIL for a used font that is not embedded, color or grayscale images under 150 ppi, 1-bit images under 300 ppi, or unreadable content; WARN and INFO for the rest; limits are fixed in this version
Reports One-page PDF report (Letter or A4, matched to the file) and a self-contained HTML report with the full lists, both saved as new files
Originals Opened read-only and never written; saving a report over the file being checked is refused
Input One PDF at a time; files that need a password to open are refused, and files with only an owner password open read-only
Not included No fixing, color conversion or flattening; no page preview, batch checking or PDF/X validation