Home 9 Artwork Creation Guide 9 Right-to-Left Languages

Section 09 | Right-to-Left Languages

A script is described as right-to-left if writing starts from the right side of the page, and continues to the left.

Examples of right-to-left scripts are:

  • Arabic – used for Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.
  • Hebrew – used for Hebrew and Yiddish.
  • Syrian – used for varieties of the Syrian language.
  • Thaana – used for Dhivehi.
  • N’Ko – used for several African languages.

Typically, support must be enabled for these scripts. For example, the Arabic edition of Adobe Acrobat Pro ME lets the user type, view, copy, and paste Arabic within a PDF. Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support allows for the creation and export of an Arabic PDF. In addition, if the PDF is created correctly, Arabic can be typed within the PDF using a free Adobe Acrobat ME reader.

In this section, GlobalVision describes best practices when creating Braille.


9.1 Typeset Middle Eastern languages with
Adobe Creative Suite ME

RISK
Text may become corrupted.

ISSUES
Adobe Creative Suite versions prior to CS6 do not support right-to-left languages.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Use Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with ME support for editing and typesetting Middle Eastern languages (basic support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean is also provided).

Don’t:
Import Middle Eastern Artwork files into Adobe Creative Suite (Western versions).

TIPS
To typeset Middle Eastern languages, use:

  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.2 Typeset mixed languages with Adobe Creative Suite ME

RISK
Mixed languages (e.g. Arabic and English) may not typeset properly in artwork files.

ISSUE
Non-Middle Eastern applications do not support mixed languages that are written in different directions. Characters can be corrupted, affecting the text flow.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Create an asset inventory.
Typeset documents with mixed languages using Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with ME support, as they detect text direction automatically (English will automatically flow from left to right and Arabic from right to left).

Don’t:
Typeset documents with mixed languages using non-Middle Eastern versions of Adobe Creative Suite.
Outline text.

TIPS
To typeset Middle Eastern languages, use:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.3 Create PDFs in Adobe Creative Suite ME for
Middle Eastern files

RISK
Middle Eastern text may become corrupted when opened in non-ME versions of Adobe Creative Suite.

ISSUES
Not all vendors and internal departments have Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right- to-left support. Artwork changes can occur when opening Adobe CS ME files (Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, etc.) in a non-ME version.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Use Adobe CS ME or Adobe CS6 for creating a PDF with right-to-left languages.

Don’t:
Edit Adobe Creative Suite ME files in non-Middle Eastern versions of Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, etc.

TIPS
To create PDFs with Middle Eastern languages, use:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.4 Transmit Middle Eastern files as PDFs

RISKS
The text and file itself may become corrupted.

ISSUE
Not all vendors and internal departments have Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right- to-left support. Artwork changes can occur when opening Adobe CS ME files (Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, etc.) in a non-ME version.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Send artwork as high-resolution PDFS as they can easily be imported back into Adobe InDesign as an image box.

Don’t:
Send native-Middle Eastern artwork files without transmitting them as a high-resolution PDF.

TIPS
To create high-resolution PDFs use:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.5 Test fonts for compliance

RISKS
Erroneous text may appear and/ or be detected on final approved materials by proofreading software.

ISSUE
Right-to-left languages appearing in generated PDFs may not be readable by the proofreading software.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Verify that fonts used on packaging designs are tested for compliance.
Use only approved fonts.

Don’t:
Use a font that has not been tested.

TIPS
The following steps describe how to verify whether a font is compliant:

  • Open the PDF file and copy the text.
  • Paste the text into Microsoft Notepad or Apple TextEdit.
  • Check to see if any unreadable characters appear.

Next Section
Section 10 | Braille

Section 09 | Right-to-Left Languages

A script is described as right-to-left if writing starts from the right side of the page, and continues to the left.

Examples of right-to-left scripts are:

  • Arabic – used for Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.
  • Hebrew – used for Hebrew and Yiddish.
  • Syrian – used for varieties of the Syrian language.
  • Thaana – used for Dhivehi.
  • N’Ko – used for several African languages.

Typically, support must be enabled for these scripts. For example, the Arabic edition of Adobe Acrobat Pro ME lets the user type, view, copy, and paste Arabic within a PDF. Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support allows for the creation and export of an Arabic PDF. In addition, if the PDF is created correctly, Arabic can be typed within the PDF using a free Adobe Acrobat ME reader.

In this section, GlobalVision describes best practices when creating Braille.


9.1 Typeset Middle Eastern languages with
Adobe Creative Suite ME

RISK
Text may become corrupted.

ISSUES
Adobe Creative Suite versions prior to CS6 do not support right-to-left languages.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Use Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with ME support for editing and typesetting Middle Eastern languages (basic support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean is also provided).

Don’t:
Import Middle Eastern Artwork files into Adobe Creative Suite (Western versions).

TIPS
To typeset Middle Eastern languages, use:

  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.2 Typeset mixed languages with Adobe Creative Suite ME

RISK
Mixed languages (e.g. Arabic and English) may not typeset properly in artwork files.

ISSUE
Non-Middle Eastern applications do not support mixed languages that are written in different directions. Characters can be corrupted, affecting the text flow.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Create an asset inventory.
Typeset documents with mixed languages using Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with ME support, as they detect text direction automatically (English will automatically flow from left to right and Arabic from right to left).

Don’t:
Typeset documents with mixed languages using non-Middle Eastern versions of Adobe Creative Suite.
Outline text.

TIPS
To typeset Middle Eastern languages, use:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.3 Create PDFs in Adobe Creative Suite ME for
Middle Eastern files

RISK
Middle Eastern text may become corrupted when opened in non-ME versions of Adobe Creative Suite.

ISSUES
Not all vendors and internal departments have Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right- to-left support. Artwork changes can occur when opening Adobe CS ME files (Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, etc.) in a non-ME version.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Use Adobe CS ME or Adobe CS6 for creating a PDF with right-to-left languages.

Don’t:
Edit Adobe Creative Suite ME files in non-Middle Eastern versions of Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, etc.

TIPS
To create PDFs with Middle Eastern languages, use:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.4 Transmit Middle Eastern files as PDFs

RISKS
The text and file itself may become corrupted.

ISSUE
Not all vendors and internal departments have Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right- to-left support. Artwork changes can occur when opening Adobe CS ME files (Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, etc.) in a non-ME version.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Send artwork as high-resolution PDFS as they can easily be imported back into Adobe InDesign as an image box.

Don’t:
Send native-Middle Eastern artwork files without transmitting them as a high-resolution PDF.

TIPS
To create high-resolution PDFs use:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Adobe Creative Suite ME or Adobe CS6 with right-to-left support.
  • Right-to-left plug-in tools (i.e. World-tool Pro, WinSoft ScribeDOOR, etc.).
  • An Adobe InDesign script.

9.5 Test fonts for compliance

RISKS
Erroneous text may appear and/ or be detected on final approved materials by proofreading software.

ISSUE
Right-to-left languages appearing in generated PDFs may not be readable by the proofreading software.

EXAMPLE

SOLUTION
Do:
Verify that fonts used on packaging designs are tested for compliance.
Use only approved fonts.

Don’t:
Use a font that has not been tested.

TIPS
The following steps describe how to verify whether a font is compliant:

  • Open the PDF file and copy the text.
  • Paste the text into Microsoft Notepad or Apple TextEdit.
  • Check to see if any unreadable characters appear.

Next Section
Section 10 | Braille