Variable fonts are clipped during instancing
When exporting a document containing a variable font to a PDF, larger styles are clipped in some environments, and by some printers.
Version: Adobe InDesign 21.2 v64
Operating system: Windows 11 Pro 25H2
Example PDF environment: Canon iR-ADV C5860 printer, UFRII_v10.19.21 driver
Reproducing:
1. Create an empty document
2. Select a variable font (e.g. the OFL Noto Sans VF, https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans)
3. Select a heavier or wider style than the default (clipping.indd)
4. Export to PDF, with default settings (clipping.pdf)
Expected: Text is as seen prior to exporting (expected.png)
Actual: Text is clipped and illegible in some environments (simulated in actual.png)
Root cause:
This happens because the instanced fonts contained in the PDF do not have updated bounds in their glyf table glyph headers (bounds.png). To be OpenType specification compliant, these must instead cover the new outlines with variations applied in full. Without this, some rasterizers will clip to the prior bounds, making text illegible.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/spec/glyf#glyph-headers