Avoid Eyestrain & Increase Productivity with ClearType
By Joshua on July 07 2007
Although Windows Vista comes with ClearType already on by default, it looks like the majority of web design in a Windows environment will continue to be done on XP for a little while longer. And in XP it is turned off by default. (Yes, ClearType should be common knowledge among web designers, but I've run into a few who've never heard of it.)
What is Cleartype?
ClearType is basically Windows' way of anti-aliasing fonts at a smaller-than-pixel level by manipulating the individual red, green, or blue elements in your monitor, giving type a smoother appearance and making it easier to read.
Initially, people often complain that it makes things look "fuzzy," but once you've gotten used to it, having ClearType turned on increases online reading speed by about 10% .
How to turn ClearType on
- Go to the Control Panel and open Display.
- Go to the Appearance tab and click Effects.
- Under "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts…" choose ClearType.
- Click OK twice to save your settings
What our readers said
This is my first time reading about cleartype and have always wandered why Macs render fonts the way they do. From a usability point of view I think it’s more ideal to design with cleartype off. Considering that it is off by default and that me as a designer didn’t even know about turning it on, your average user wont know to turn it on. Just my 2 cents