Using Custom Fonts in PDF Mail Merge
The default font works for basic documents, but professional output often demands specific typography — a company’s brand font, a calligraphic style for certificates, or proper CJK rendering for international names. Mergram lets you upload custom fonts and apply them to any text field in your merged PDFs.
Prerequisites
To use custom fonts in your merged PDFs, you need:
- A PDF template with text fields placed on the canvas
- Font files in .ttf, .otf, .woff, or .woff2 format
- A Mergram account on a plan that supports custom fonts
Font licensing
Make sure you have the appropriate license to use your font files in generated documents. Most commercial fonts allow document embedding, but some restrict it. Check your font’s EULA (End User License Agreement) before uploading.
Supported Font Formats
Mergram accepts the following font file formats:
| Format | Extension | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TrueType | .ttf | Most common format, widely available |
| OpenType | .otf | Advanced typography features, based on TrueType or PostScript |
| WOFF | .woff | Web Open Font Format, compressed for web use |
| WOFF2 | .woff2 | Improved compression, newer web format |
All four formats produce identical rendering in the output PDF. Choose whichever format you have available — no conversion needed.
Uploading Fonts
Fonts are managed in Assets → Fonts. The upload process is straightforward:
- Navigate to Assets → Fonts in the sidebar
- Click Upload Font
- Select your
.ttf,.otf,.woff, or.woff2file - The font becomes immediately available in the editor
Give fonts descriptive names
When uploading, use names that help your team identify the font. Names like ‘Brand-Heading-Bold’ or ‘Certificate-Script’ are more useful than ‘font_v2_final’. Team members can see and use all uploaded fonts.
Uploaded fonts are team-scoped — every member of your team can use them. This ensures consistent typography across all documents your organization produces.
Applying Fonts to Fields
Each text field on the canvas can use a different font. To apply a custom font:
- Click a text field on the canvas to select it
- Open the field properties panel (right sidebar or bottom toolbar)
- Find the font dropdown and select your uploaded custom font
- The field immediately updates to show the new font in the preview
You can mix fonts freely on the same document:
| Field | Font Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate recipient name | Calligraphic script font | Formal, elegant |
| Certificate title | Bold serif font | Authority, importance |
| Date and ID | Sans-serif font | Clean, modern, readable |
| Company name | Brand font | Consistent branding |
Unicode and International Character Support
Custom fonts are essential for rendering non-Latin scripts correctly. The default font (Inter) has broad Latin character coverage but may not include all CJK, Arabic, Cyrillic, or Vietnamese characters.
| Script | Example Characters | Font Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese (Simplified) | New Documents | Noto Sans SC, Source Han Sans |
| Chinese (Traditional) | New Documents | Noto Sans TC, Source Han Serif |
| Japanese | New Documents | Noto Sans JP, IPAexGothic |
| Korean | New Documents | Noto Sans KR, NanumGothic |
| Arabic | New Documents | Noto Sans Arabic, Amiri |
| Cyrillic | New Documents | Most serif/sans-serif fonts include Cyrillic |
| Vietnamese | New Documents | Noto Sans, Be Vietnam |
| Thai | New Documents | Noto Sans Thai, Sarabun |
Use Noto fonts for broad coverage
Google’s Noto font family covers nearly every script in use today and is free to use. If you’re unsure which font supports your target script, start with Noto Sans — it has one of the widest character ranges available. Download from fonts.google.com.
Use Cases for Custom Fonts
Branded Documents
Upload your company’s brand font and apply it to all text fields. This ensures merged documents match your corporate identity — invoices, letters, and contracts all use consistent typography.
Certificates and Awards
Certificates often require formal or calligraphic typography. Upload a script or display font and apply it to recipient names for a polished, professional appearance.
International Communications
When generating documents for recipients in China, Japan, Korea, or Arabic-speaking countries, upload the appropriate CJK or Arabic font to ensure names and addresses render correctly with proper glyphs.
Specialized Industries
Legal documents benefit from classic serif fonts. Technical documents may use monospace fonts for code or data fields. Marketing materials use display fonts for headlines.
Font Behavior and Fallbacks
When a character isn’t available in the selected font, Mergram uses a fallback mechanism:
- Primary font — The custom font you selected
- Unicode fallback — If a character isn’t in the primary font, the system falls back to a built-in Unicode font
This means your document still renders completely even if the custom font doesn’t cover every character. However, the visual appearance may be inconsistent — some characters in one font, others in the fallback. For best results, use a font that covers all the characters in your data.
Test with real data
Preview your merge with actual data that includes all the characters you expect (accents, CJK, special symbols). If some characters look different from the rest, the font may not include those glyphs — consider switching to a font with broader coverage.
Best Practices for Font Selection
- Match the document’s purpose — Formal documents use serif fonts; modern communications use sans-serif; certificates use script fonts
- Limit to 2–3 fonts per document — Too many fonts look cluttered and unprofessional
- Check character coverage — Preview with your actual data to confirm all characters render correctly
- Use consistent sizing — Maintain clear hierarchy with different sizes rather than different fonts for every element
- Test print output — Some fonts look different on screen vs. paper. Print a test page to verify
- Use web-friendly formats — WOFF2 offers the best compression if you have the option to choose
Common Issues and Troubleshooting
Font not appearing in the dropdown: The font may still be processing. Refresh the editor page. If it still doesn’t appear, verify the file is a valid .ttf, .otf, .woff, or .woff2 file and re-upload.
Characters showing as boxes or blanks: The selected font doesn’t include glyphs for those characters. Switch to a font with broader Unicode coverage — Noto Sans is a reliable fallback for most scripts.
Font looks different than expected: Some fonts have multiple weights and styles. Make sure you uploaded the correct variant (Regular, Bold, Italic). Each weight/style is a separate file that needs to be uploaded individually.
Team members can’t see uploaded fonts: Fonts are team-scoped. Verify all team members are on the same team. If you’re on multiple teams, switch to the correct team context in the sidebar.
Font file upload fails: Check the file size and format. Corrupted font files or files in unsupported formats (like .dfont or .bin) will be rejected. Try re-downloading the font from the original source.
Get Started
Upload your brand font or a Unicode-compatible typeface in Assets → Fonts, then apply it to fields in the editor. Preview with real data to see how your documents look with proper typography before running the full merge.