Font rasterisation is, in the author’s opinion, one of the most interesting fields of computer science. If music is the subjective application of physics, then font rasterisation is almost certainly the subjective application of computer science. The purpose of this article is threefold: firstly, to provide an introduction into the various methods available to aid in the rasterisation process; secondly, to provide a critical analysis of these methods against the needs of desktop applications; and finally, to relate this analysis to free software.

Figures, in the form of bitmap images, are used extensively throughout. This is done to ensure consistent results across different platforms. Since some of the figures make use of sub-pixel rendering, this article is best viewed on an LCD screen.