pdf text unreadable

I have an answer (not a good one but....)
1st the good news - Thewre is nothing wrong with your .pdf or computer.

Now the bad news - While there is nothing "wrong" with your iPad per se, there is a problem in the way it's conversion software reads certain fonts. Unfortunately, some fonts are "confused" by the .pdf reader/conversion software and result in this.

I have several Hollywood memorabilia catalogs in .pdf format from "Profiles in History". They all work great on my (or any) PC but return those exact same strange fonts in the iPad.

I was told by an Apple "Genius" that whatever program/font generator was used to create that .pdf resulted in a font that the software Apple uses to translate .pdfs could not translate.

Hopefully, enough complaints to Apple will result in an upgrade.

Someone suggested using "Goodreader" but I haven't tried it yet and have my doubts as to wether this will fix the problem or not.

I have had exactly the same problem myself.

I posted a support question here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2572401&tstart=0

but it's been totally ignored by the apple folks. I also reported the fault via the "bug reporting" but it's just been ignored.

If you open the PDF in Preview, then re-save and re-sync, the fault sometimes goes away, but doesn't cure it happening in the middle of a big presentation 😟

Let me know if you get any response,
Dave.

I have this issue with almost every PDF.
Even with PDFs I have created.
A few of them look alright when I first open them initially.
If I zoom in or out or change the orientation of my iPad, they look exactly what you have shown in your post.
I have tried a few different PDF readers on iPad and they display garbled text like this in every app.
Does anyone have an idea as to way this is happening or how to go about solving the issues with PDFs displaying this type of garbled text?
I am thoroughly frustrated with this.
I had a couple of large manuals and textbooks in PDF format that I wanted to put on my iPad.
I figured it wasn't the files size as much as it was, maybe, the sheer number of pages the iPad needed to render. So, I started to break down the manuals into smaller more manageable chunks, but I am still getting garbled text as a result.
I posted about this not that long ago and no one here seemed to have a clue or solution for this issue.
Someone may need to send some feedback to Apple.

Since iOS is a streamlined operating system, I think it may not understand Type 1 fonts. Some of my own older PDFs showed up garbled on the iPad. I reopened the master documents (Adobe InDesign) and switched all Type 1 fonts to TrueType alternatives, and the iPad showed the new documents correctly.

(I suspect this is the answer, as the garbled documents became readable when GoodReader was switched to "day mode" -- a text-only setting.)

I have the same problem with PDF files on iPad. I kind of found a solution for that. The answer is to re-create PDF files again.

1. Install CutePDF
2. Use Foxit to open the PDF files.
3. Print PDF files with CutePDF.

The new PDF files created by CutePDF are more compatible with iPad.

I tried this on my PDF files for Before & After Magazine and it works perfectly. The only downside is that it lost the embedded links inside PDF file.

I am having this same issue with a course .pdf textbook. Any body find a way around this - is it a font issue?

I also see the same issue. I've purchased the ebook "The design of design" by Brooks and it is unusable. I've tried multiple PDF readers without success. Very disappointing.

Here is an example:

https://www.me.com/gallery/#100023/IMG_0007

I have tried GoodReader. Didn't solve the issue.

iRead PDF has been working fine for me but I have not been paying attention to the fonts. I have no clue what they are.

This worked for me as well Thanks