Known Issues

• PDFs created in Mac OS X: pdftk is compiled using Java gcj libraries rather than the C libraries in gcc, which means that it is dependent on the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). JRE doesn’t come enabled with full international localization by default, and for some reason, most glyphs and font subsets embedded in a PDF file on a Mac platform are considered international (encoded as MacRoman), even if they don’t use any non-Latin characters. (see issue #2791262 here). pdftk will fail if you try to use it on any PDF with Mac-encoded fonts.
  • Solutions: To get around this, you can either recompile JRE to enable full internationalization, or make the PDF on a Windows or Linux platform to avoid any Mac embedded fonts. Making the PDF in Windows is by far the easiest solution. You can still use programs like InDesign or Word on a Mac to create your actual content; you only need to use Windows to output the final PDF.