devsofttech_hms_ci4/MPDF_HINDI_FONT_CONFIGURATION.md

mPDF Hindi (Devanagari) Font Configuration

Summary of Changes

Problem

• Old font: dejavusans - Very thin/light weight, limited Hindi glyph coverage
• Issue: Poor rendering of Hindi/Devanagari text in PDFs

Solution Implemented

• New font: freeserif - Medium weight serif font with excellent Hindi/Devanagari support
• Result: Better readability, proper glyph rendering, professional appearance

Files Updated (2026-06-06)

1. Opd.php (3 instances)

• Line ~2036: Invoice PDF generation
• Line ~2192: Prescription PDF generation
• Line ~2308: Document print with custom templates

2. Ipd_discharge.php

• Already using freeserif ✅ (Lines 5485, 5532, 5581)

3. Billing\Ipd.php

• Already using freeserif ✅ (Line 982)

4. Diagnosis.php (3 instances)

• Line ~1517: Lab report with print settings
• Line ~2201: Invoice PDF generation
• Line ~2456: PDF create with timing logs

5. Billing\Charges.php (2 instances)

• Line ~1140: Landscape invoice (A4-L format)
• Line ~1151: Portrait invoice (A4 format)

6. Storestock.php (1 instance)

• Line ~782: Indent/stock PDF generation

7. AbdmGateway.php (1 instance)

• Line ~2043: ABDM health record PDF generation

8. DoctorDocument.php

• Already using freesans ✅ (Line 1298) - Another good Unicode font

---

Available mPDF Fonts for Hindi

Built-in Fonts (No Additional Setup)

Font Name	Type	Weight	Hindi Support	Best Use Case
freeserif ✅	Serif	Medium	Excellent	Current choice - Reports, prescriptions
freesans	Sans-serif	Medium	Excellent	Modern documents, UI-heavy PDFs
dejavusans ❌	Sans-serif	Thin	Limited	Avoid - too thin
dejavusanscondensed	Sans-serif	Medium	Good	Space-constrained layouts

Custom Font Installation (Advanced)

For production-grade Hindi typography, you can add custom fonts:

Option 1: Noto Sans Devanagari (Google Fonts)

$mpdf = new Mpdf([
    'fontDir' => [
        __DIR__ . '/../../public/fonts',
        realpath(__DIR__ . '/../../vendor/mpdf/mpdf/ttfonts')
    ],
    'fontdata' => [
        'notosansdevanagari' => [
            'R' => 'NotoSansDevanagari-Regular.ttf',
            'B' => 'NotoSansDevanagari-Bold.ttf',
        ]
    ],
    'default_font' => 'notosansdevanagari',
]);

Download: https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+Devanagari

Option 2: Lohit Devanagari (Open Source)

$mpdf = new Mpdf([
    'fontDir' => [__DIR__ . '/../../public/fonts'],
    'fontdata' => [
        'lohitdevanagari' => [
            'R' => 'lohit-devanagari.ttf',
        ]
    ],
    'default_font' => 'lohitdevanagari',
]);

Download: https://github.com/pravins/lohit

Option 3: Windows Mangal Font

If running on Windows server with Mangal installed:

$mpdf = new Mpdf([
    'fontDir' => ['C:/Windows/Fonts'],
    'fontdata' => [
        'mangal' => [
            'R' => 'mangal.ttf',
            'B' => 'mangalb.ttf',
        ]
    ],
    'default_font' => 'mangal',
]);

---

Testing the Changes

Quick Test

1. Generate any PDF (OPD prescription, discharge summary, lab report)
2. Check Hindi text rendering
3. Compare with old PDFs - new font should be:
   • Thicker/bolder than before
   • More readable at all zoom levels
   • Proper glyph rendering for all Hindi characters

Sample Hindi Text for Testing

नमस्ते। यह एक परीक्षण है।
मरीज का नाम: राज कुमार शर्मा
निदान: बुखार और सिरदर्द

---

Font Weight Comparison

Before (dejavusans)

• Font weight: 300-400 (Light to Normal)
• Line thickness: Very thin
• Best for: English text only

After (freeserif)

• Font weight: 500-600 (Medium to Semi-bold)
• Line thickness: Medium
• Best for: Multilingual documents including Hindi

---

Configuration Options

Current Standard Configuration

$mpdf = new Mpdf([
    'mode' => 'utf-8',
    'format' => 'A4',
    'orientation' => 'P',
    'margin_left' => 10,
    'margin_right' => 10,
    'margin_top' => 10,
    'margin_bottom' => 10,
    'default_font' => 'freeserif',       // ✅ Changed
    'autoScriptToLang' => true,           // Auto-detect language
    'autoLangToFont' => true,             // Auto-switch font for different scripts
    'tempDir' => WRITEPATH . 'cache',
]);

Additional Options for Better Hindi Support

$mpdf = new Mpdf([
    'default_font' => 'freeserif',
    'autoScriptToLang' => true,
    'autoLangToFont' => true,
    'useSubstitutions' => true,           // Enable font substitution
    'CSSselectMedia' => 'print',          // Better print styling
]);

---

Inline Font Override

If you need different fonts for specific sections within the same PDF:

<style>
    .hindi-bold {
        font-family: freeserif;
        font-weight: bold;
        font-size: 14pt;
    }
    .english-section {
        font-family: freesans;
        font-size: 11pt;
    }
</style>

<div class="hindi-bold">
    मरीज का नाम: राज कुमार शर्मा
</div>
<div class="english-section">
    Patient Name: Raj Kumar Sharma
</div>

---

Troubleshooting

Issue: Hindi text shows squares/boxes

Solution: Ensure UTF-8 encoding in database and PHP files

// In controller before PDF generation
header('Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8');

Issue: Font looks different in different PDFs

Check: Verify all controllers use same font configuration

Issue: Need even bolder font

Options:

1. Use CSS: <span style="font-weight: bold;">हिंदी पाठ</span>
2. Switch to freesans (slightly bolder than freeserif)
3. Install custom bold font (see Custom Font Installation above)

---

Performance Notes

• freeserif is built-in to mPDF - no performance impact
• Custom fonts add ~2-3 MB to memory usage per font file
• Font substitution (autoLangToFont) adds negligible overhead (~0.1s per PDF)

---

Rollback Instructions

If you need to revert to old font:

# Search and replace in all PHP files
git diff                          # Review changes
git checkout -- app/Controllers/  # Revert all controller changes

Or manually change:

'default_font' => 'dejavusans',  // Old font

---

Next Steps (Optional)

1. For Professional Hindi Typography

• Download Noto Sans Devanagari from Google Fonts
• Place TTF files in public/fonts/ directory
• Update mPDF configuration in each controller

2. For System-wide Font Configuration

• Create a helper function getPdfConfig() in app/Helpers/pdf_helper.php
• Centralize all mPDF configuration
• Call from all controllers: $mpdf = new Mpdf(getPdfConfig());

3. For Font Testing

• Create a test endpoint: /test-pdf-fonts
• Generate sample PDF with all available fonts
• Compare rendering quality

---

Support

mPDF Documentation:

• Fonts: https://mpdf.github.io/fonts-languages/fonts-in-mpdf-7-x.html
• Indic Scripts: https://mpdf.github.io/fonts-languages/indic-fonts-v6.html

Font Resources:

• Google Fonts: https://fonts.google.com/?subset=devanagari
• Font Squirrel: https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/list/language/hindi

---

Changelog

• 2026-06-06: Changed default font from dejavusans to freeserif across all controllers for better Hindi rendering and font weight