Figure 11-7 shows an enlarged
diagonal line border between black and white regions on an LCD screen, rendered
using subpixel hinting.
Figure 11-5. GNOME font rendering preferences tool
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11.8 Rendering Options 159
Note that each pixel is comprised of a red, green, and a blue element; on this display,
they are arranged horizontally in R-G-B order. In the first row, there is one
white pixel. In the second row, there is a white pixel followed by one-third of a white
pixel??”which, in this case, means a red pixel. The third row consists of a white pixel
followed by two-thirds of a pixel??”a red and green pixel, which displays as yellow.
The fourth row contains two white pixels.
It seems odd that a color pixel would be perceived as a partial pixel, but it works
because the color pixel is a continuation of the R-G-B element pattern on the line.
Figure 11-6. KDE font rendering preferences tool
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160 Chapter 11: Pango, Xft, Fontconfig, and Render: Fonts the New Way
In order for subpixel hinting to work properly, the font renderer needs to know the
arrangement of the subpixel elements on the display. This information is not documented
for most LCD monitors, so the only way to determine the correct value is by
using a large magnifying glass, or (more commonly) by experimenting to see what
looks best.
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