Getting good fonts from LaTeX

 

Here are a couple of easy fixes to put in your latex .tex file to get scalable adobe fonts instead of the latex default (called Computer Modern). The problem with the default is that the resulting file doesn't translate to .pdf well and the fonts end up horribly bitmapped. There are two easy solutions, so you can take your pick:

1. Add \usepackage{type1cm} at the beginning of the document (before the \begin{document})
   This will give fonts that look just like Computer Modern (which some people like), except that they are scalable and translate to .pdf well. If you don't have type1cm.sty somewhere on your computer you can find it at http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/type1cm/
   
2. If you'd like something more standard (and pleasingly darker), like Times fonts, don't do 1) but instead add the following 3 lines before the \begin{document}
   \fontfamily{ptm}\selectfont
   \renewcommand{\rmdefault}{ptm} %this gives Times for regular text
   \usepackage{mathptmx} % this gives slanted Times symbols for math
   
3. If you have access to CDF internal pages, look here for a similar approach:
   http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/internal/notes/examples.html