Re:Three typefaces for mathematics (2007) [pdf]
by mod50ack on Monday March 23, 2020 @04:10AM
(#22662058)
This is not usually noticeable, because TeX distributions now use a Type 1 version of CM, distributed by AMS, when compiling documents to PostScript or PDF. (Or, they use Latin Modern, which is based on this Type 1 version which is so spindly in the first place.)
To use an adaptation which is thicker in print, and which uses the original METAFONT settings, check out mpfonts: https://ctan.org/pkg/mpfonts.
However, note that on screen, mpfonts usually doesn't look so great, since the fonts are Type 3 adaptations of the METAFONT programs and not Type 1 fonts.
Optimized for printers of a different era (and relying heavily on ink bleed), Computer Modern's default configuration looks less than great on today's printed page. However, if you make some small adjustments (as METAFONT was designed to do), it suddenly becomes rather pleasant. Here's a page with an example of how it looked initially compared to how it looks on modern printers, and a modification of the METAFONT parameters that looks pleasant on screens:
https://www.typografie.info/3/topic/22238-ist-die-computer-m...
Most modern digital adaptions are done poorly, and without considering this.
METAFONT is really simple, and more people should consider playing around with it. It's really fantastic.