Font Issues in OSX

[tonhe]

I just got my MBP this week, and have spent the last few days setting it up and finding things, etc..

One of the biggest issues I'm having is font related while web browsing. The fonts in the windows version of firefox look so much better than do they in OSX.. Even Safari and Camino seem to have the same issues..

I've included a screen shot to demonstrate... its just a readability issue for me,maybe a bit of nit picking.. but its justified i think !

You can really see it in the titles of the posts here on macrumors, slashdot, and a few other sites....

-Tony

PS this screen shot is after I tried to fix the issue in firefox by changing fonts ot the ones included with Office for Mac, and told it to use my fonts all the time. I'll attach another screen shot with the browser allowing sites to change fonts.

Here is a screenshot with firefox setup with the new fonts, but now allowing sites to change fonts (this is the default setting for firefox)

Preferences->Content->Fonts & Colors->Advanced->Allow pages to use their own fonts, instead of my selections above

The fonts I have setup are as follows...

Proportional - Serif
Serif - Times New Roman
Sans-Serif: Arial
Monospace: Courier New

 

[wrldwzrd89]

This is because of Apple and Microsoft differing on how they smooth fonts in their respective operating systems. Microsoft's implementation tries to make text "look good" on the screen, even if doing so means sacrificing the shape of the glyphs that make up the font. Apple's implementation does the exact opposite - it prefers to preserve the shape of the glyphs at all costs. Additionally, Apple uses both anti-aliasing AND sub-pixel rendering to smooth fonts. Microsoft uses sub-pixel rendering only.

Some people prefer Microsoft's system, others Apple's. I happen to be one of those people who finds both systems likable.

 

[tonhe]

I can understand that.. I was just reading a bit about the issue on some guys blog..

Apple generally believes that the goal of the algorithm should be to preserve the design of the typeface as much as possible, even at the cost of a little bit of blurriness.

Microsoft generally believes that the shape of each letter should be hammered into pixel boundaries to prevent blur and improve readability, even at the cost of not being true to the typeface.

So, is there a way to at least make the fonts look less bold, or chunky? I don't exactly have the best vision, and since I spend 12+ hrs a day on a computer, it gets kinda annoying.

 

[calande]

Hello,

I see it as a major problem for me, especially when the text is small. I haven't bought a Mac yet, and beforehand, I'd like to know if there are settings to choose the way you want to render fonts (like there are in other OSes). Maybe there is a patch that fixes the font rendering issue? Other than that, I'm quite interested in purchasing an iMac in the end of the year, those look really nice and polished
Thanks!

 

[johto]

Hello,

I see it as a major problem for me, especially when the text is small. I haven't bought a Mac yet, and beforehand, I'd like to know if there are settings to choose the way you want to render fonts (like there are in other OSes). Maybe there is a patch that fixes the font rendering issue? Other than that, I'm quite interested in purchasing an iMac in the end of the year, those look really nice and polished
Thanks!

Yes there are settings to adjust the fonts. About "fixing" the font rendering issue, no...there is no issue!

It might just seem that way when you are used to imho, ugly windows rendering. Give it a couple week and you will start to like OSX rendering better. I find i have less eye strain with OSX nowadays, way easier to read web pages and documents. OSX renders fonts like it shows on thee printed paper. Fonts look very nice on this 24" iMac

 

[calande]

It might just seem that way when you are used to imho, ugly windows rendering.

Ok, I still like very much the way fonts are cleanly rendered on Windows with ClearType enabled (default on Vista). Professional designers may find fonts altered, but a normal user like me doesn't perceive it, however, I find shapes cleaner and sharper (less fuzzy).

OSX renders fonts like it shows on thee printed paper.

Ok, I think if this is true, the only reason to this is high resolution (high DPI). I have 96 dpi, and on my current computer with Vista, although the fonts being sharp and clean, it's poor quality, compared to a laser print on quality paper.

Fonts look very nice on this 24" iMac

Yeah, I think the screen definition is of utmost importance. Could you tell me what DPI you have on your Mac? If I can solve this problem by increasing the DPI on my screen, and if the iMac can have high definition, this could be a tradeoff.

 

[johto]

Ok, I still like very much the way fonts are cleanly rendered on Windows with ClearType enabled (default on Vista). Professional designers may find fonts altered, but a normal user like me doesn't perceive it, however, I find shapes cleaner and sharper (less fuzzy).



Ok, I think if this is true, the only reason to this is high resolution (high DPI). I have 96 dpi, and on my current computer with Vista, although the fonts being sharp and clean, it's poor quality, compared to a laser print on quality paper.



Yeah, I think the screen definition is of utmost importance. Could you tell me what DPI you have on your Mac? If I can solve this problem by increasing the DPI on my screen, and if the iMac can have high definition, this could be a tradeoff.

i dont know how to check the dpi. I'm running 1920x1200 resolution.
I saw your attached image and it seems just fine. Imho your windows fonts look too fragile and thin compared to more pronounced os x fonts. Like i said, its all how your eye get used to it. I would recommend you to not look windows for couple weeks I'v been using Windows, Linux(worst rendering) and now 6 months OS X and i find fonts best on Mac.

Heres font sample from my browser(Safari), imho its just as normal as yours:

 

[calande]

I agree with you that the fonts on the first screenshot look weak and too thin in Firefox/Win (the screenshot wasn't mine). I have uploaded a comparative screenshot: http://i36.tinypic.com/118koi1.png - the right part of the screenshot is Vista (left is OS X). I'd like to be able to tweak OS X to have a similar font rendering in OS X if possible. Thanks.

 

[tonhe]

To me, the fonts in OSX are just so heavy that they look fuzzy and squashed together.. I find the fonts in windows so much easier to read, browsing pages on the mac honestly gives me a headache at times..

 

[calande]

tonhe: I found a HOW-TO that may help you. Please post a screenshot if you're satisfied with the result. Ideally, for me, though, would be a ClearType font rendering

 

[johto]

To me, the fonts in OSX are just so heavy that they look fuzzy and squashed together.. I find the fonts in windows so much easier to read, browsing pages on the mac honestly gives me a headache at times..

Really, give a couple weeks, your brain will get used to the fonts.

 

[goobimama]

A Casual Look at Font Book in Leopard. . Might like it.