ProQuest's manuscript prep guide speaks to PDF creation from MS Word in a Windows OS.
An exerpt:
If on a Mac the guide points one to the Mac Help files.
Embedding Fonts
This guidance assumes you are writing your manuscript in MS Word on a PC. If you are using a Mac, similar guidance can be found in help files.
Create your manuscript using a TrueType font—NOT a scalable font. See below for a list of recommended TrueType fonts and point sizes.
Then:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Save tab.
2. Select the Embed TrueType fonts check box.
3. Save the document.
Some recommended TrueType fonts and point sizes
Arial 10pt
Century 11pt
*Courier New 10pt
Garamond 12pt
*Georgia 11pt
Lucida Bright 10pt
Microsoft Sans Serif 10pt
Tahoma 10pt
*Times New Roman 12pt
*Trebuchet MS 10pt
*Verdana 10pt
* Web font. Designed for easy screen readability.
Since many readers are likely to view and/or use thesis onscreen, you may wish to improve the readability of your text by using one of these fonts.
Alternatively, if you have Acrobat Professional available to you, you can follow these instructions:
Open your document in Microsoft Word.
Click on the Adobe PDF tab at top. Select "Change Conversion Settings."
Click on Advanced Settings.
Click on the Fonts folder on the left side of the new window. In the lower box on the right, delete any fonts that appear in the "Never Embed" box. Then click "OK."
If prompted to save these new settings, save them as "Embed all fonts."
Now the Change Conversion Settings window should show "embed all fonts" in the Conversion Settings drop down list and it should be selected.
Click "OK" again.
Click on the Adobe PDF link at the top again. This time select Convert to Adobe PDF.
Depending on the size of your document and the speed of your computer, this process can take 1-15 minutes.
After your document is converted, select the "File" tab at the top of the page. Then select "Document Properties."
Click on the "Fonts" tab. Carefully check all of your fonts. They should all show "(Embedded Subset)" after the font name.
If you see "(Embedded Subset)" after all fonts, you have succeeded.