PHP/MySQL/PDF: charset and how to handle strange characters

[DeLuca]

I am designing a small registration system. In this system, people write their name and surname in a form. This information is later saved in a database. The admin can later generate a personalized PDF containing this information (kind of pre-filled form). I am struggling to understand how I should plan the database and the PDF generation in order to handle correctly as many characters as possible.I would like to handle/display correclty at least all European Languages (Italian, French, Spanish but also Slavic Languages, German Languages, ecc..), as most of the people who will sign-up will come from all corners of Europe. Some example of "strange" characters may be "