If you’re writing a document with LaTeX and you want to include graphs you made with Microcal Origin, you propably want to export your graph from Origin as an EPS file, so that you’ve got a nicely scaleable vector figure to start with when creating your DVI, PS or finally PDF. In case you just lost half an hour wondering why your graph looks just great in the PDF except for the text: Make sure to chose “Use Built-In fonts” in Origin’s EPS-Export-Options, and the text in your graph will look splendid in the final PDF as well.
(Note: This might not work or maybe even matter for any other kind of system/setup than the one I’m currently working with, but it just worked for me so I rather share the finding.)
[Update:] Forget the above. Especially if (you’re working with my system and) you want German umlauts included, something that didn’t work for me when using the “built-in fonts” option. Just export with the “substitution table” or the “outline” option and get an Adobe Reader 6 (or newer) or GSview, which will show all of the EPS graphic in the PDF document just fine, regardless of the option chosen in Origin. Of course you’ll have to get over the fact that your PDF won’t be truly backwards compatible with e.g. Adobe Reader 4. Which seems to have been causing my problem in the beginning – I had Adobe Reader 4 installed.
Wasn’t the whole idea of PDF that it was supposed to just look the same on every system and for every viewer and so on? :-/