Font Hinting - Guidelines

Guidelines

According to the TrueType Reference Guide, font instructors (those performing font hinting) must balance the following two constraints when hinting a font:

• At small sizes, chance effects should not be allowed to magnify small differences in the original outline design of a glyph.
• At large sizes, the subtlety of the original design should emerge.

The Guide suggests that, for screen viewing, fonts should be readable at 9 points per em at 72 dpi. Particular attention should be paid to the cap height, x-height, and baseline, so that the font retains its normal character while not producing exaggerated effects at small sizes.