The example below is a bit smaller (you don't need to include inputenc to reproduce the problem). \documentclass[semhelv]{seminar} \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} \begin{document} \begin{slide} b \"a z \end{slide} \end{document} cu, Adrian -- A "No" uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a "Yes" merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble. -- Mahatma Ghandi