Font hinting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A font test with (lower rows) and without hinting (upper rows) at 100% (above) and 400% (below). Note the improved edge contrast with the hinted text but improved character shape in the unhinted text.
A font test with (lower rows) and without hinting (upper rows) at 100% (above) and 400% (below). Note the improved edge contrast with the hinted text but improved character shape in the unhinted text.

Font hinting, also known as grid-fitting, is the process of adjusting an outline font to make it line up with the grid to which it is being rasterized. At small sizes or without antialiasing, hinting is critical for producing a legible image. Hints are usually created in a font editor during the typeface design process and embedded in the font, but FreeType uses an autohinter when such hints are not present or their use is restricted by patent.

A font can be hinted either automatically or manually. Most font editors are able to do automatic hinting, and this approach is suitable for many fonts. However commercial fonts of the highest quality are hand-hinted to provide the absolute best appearance on computer displays. This is a tedious and time-consuming art practiced by only a few typographers and can be done only with professional-level tools such as FontLab Studio.

This typography-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../f/o/n/Font_hinting.html"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.