Arabic text on printed ribbon: direction, joined letters, and who checks it

The three ways Arabic goes wrong

Almost every problem with Arabic on printed ribbon falls into one of three faults, and all three show up in the artwork file rather than at the press.

• Letters disconnected. Arabic letters change shape depending on where they sit in a word and join to the letters beside them. When the design software does not shape Arabic correctly, the letters print as separate, isolated forms instead of a joined word, and a fluent reader sees it immediately as wrong.
• Text reversed. Arabic reads right to left. Software built around left-to-right text can lay the characters out in the wrong order, so the word prints back to front even though each letter looks fine on its own.
• Wrong or missing dots and diacritics. Many Arabic letters are distinguished only by the number and position of small dots, and some words carry marks above or below the letter that change how it is read. These are easy to drop, substitute or misplace, and the change can alter the word completely.

Why it happens

All three faults trace back to the same handful of causes. Design software without proper Arabic shaping support will not join letters correctly, however the text was typed. Copying Arabic text between applications, especially from a chat message, a spreadsheet or a PDF, is a common point where direction and joining break, because the copy carries plain characters without the shaping information the original used. The most damaging version of the problem is converting the text to outlines before the rendering fault is corrected: once broken, disconnected or reversed letters are turned into outline shapes, the fault is locked into the artwork and will print exactly as it looks on screen, however carefully everything else is checked.

How to supply Arabic text safely

Two things should travel together for any Arabic line on ribbon:

• The artwork, as outlined vector, produced from software that shapes Arabic correctly in the first place, so the joins and direction are right before anything is converted to outlines. This follows the same rule as any other printed ribbon artwork, covered in the logo-printed ribbon guide and the guide to artwork files.
• The original text, in a separate plain text file, not inside the artwork. This gives the printer something to compare the outlined shapes against, word for word, and gives a native reader an easy way to check the wording without opening design software.

Sending only a picture of the words, or only the outlined vector with no plain text to check it against, removes the one thing that catches a reversed or disconnected word before it is cut into hundreds of metres of ribbon.

Direction on the ribbon

Arabic reads right to left. On a ribbon that runs along its length, this means the start of an Arabic greeting sits at the right-hand end of each repeat, with the text running back towards the left, the mirror of how an English line on the same ribbon would be set. Checking this on the finished artwork, not only on the text as typed, is part of the same check as disconnected letters: a layout that looks correct in a text box can still print back to front once it is placed on the ribbon's repeat.

Bilingual lines: English and Arabic together

Most buyers printing Arabic on ribbon in the UAE want it alongside English, not alone. Two layouts are common:

• Stacked, with the English line above or below the Arabic line, each set in its own correct direction.
• Mirrored either side of a mark, such as a small motif or a brand mark, with English reading outward to the left and Arabic reading outward to the right from the centre.

Whichever layout is chosen, the rule from the Ramadan and Eid ribbon guide applies: tie a bow from a proof print and check that at least one complete greeting, in both languages, shows on the front.

The greetings buyers print

This is an English-language page, so it describes rather than spells out the Arabic wording. The greetings UAE buyers most often print on ribbon are the Ramadan greeting ("Ramadan Kareem"), the Eid greeting ("Eid Mubarak"), and the UAE National Day greeting. The exact Arabic wording, spelling and letter forms for any of these must come from the brand itself, not be guessed from an English phrase, and must be checked by a native reader before the proof is approved. A greeting that is close but not quite right is still wrong, and ribbon that has already been printed cannot be corrected.

Calligraphic vs simple typefaces

Arabic typefaces range from simple, geometric letterforms to flowing calligraphic styles with fine hairlines, long sweeping strokes and decorative flourishes. A calligraphic style can look striking in a proof on screen or paper, but ribbon is printed small and the ribbon's surface is not paper: fine hairlines and small diacritic marks can fill in or drop out entirely at typical ribbon widths, especially in foil or screen print. A simpler, more geometric typeface holds its shape far better at small sizes. As with English text, give the design room: the Ramadan and Eid ribbon guide notes that 25 mm and wider gives space for a clear line of text, while narrower ribbon should keep to a short word.

Who checks it

A native Arabic reader signs off the proof before printing, every time, including on a reorder of wording that has been printed before. A simple checklist before approval:

• The wording matches what the brand supplied, word for word, against the plain text file
• The letters join correctly and no letter prints as a disconnected, isolated form
• The direction is correct: the greeting starts at the right of the ribbon's repeat
• Every dot and diacritic is present and in the right place
• At small size, on the actual ribbon width and finish, the text is still legible, not filled in or broken up
• A bow tied from the proof shows a complete greeting on the front, in both languages if bilingual

The short checklist

• Arabic text supplied as outlined vector, from software that shapes Arabic correctly
• The original text also sent as a separate plain text file, for comparison
• Direction checked on the final artwork: the greeting starts at the right
• Typeface chosen that holds its hairlines and dots at the ribbon's width
• Exact wording confirmed by the brand, not guessed from an English phrase
• Proof signed off by a native Arabic reader before the full run is printed

Questions buyers ask