In Yosemite, when I look at a pdf file in Preview the fonts are blurry compared to Mavericks. The upper image below is a screenshot using Mavericks, and the lower one is from Yosemite.
I tried fiddling with LCD font smoothing in preferences, and restarting, but nothing changed. Anyone else having this issue, and maybe found a solutions?
Well, someone mentioned that this happens when clicking and dragging the Preview window. I didn't notice this so I tried it out. I tested this by closing preview and then reopening it with the test pdf. It showed crystal clear. I clicked the edge and dragged the window to increase the reading space (main window). The text blurred. Not pixelated. But in random sections of my pdf file (no matter the page I was on) some spots were blurry and others sharp. Very annoying.
I closed preview again. Reopened my pdf file. Crystal clear. I used the keys command + shift + +(to zoom in). Text retained edges/sharpness. I used the keys command + shift + – (to zoom out). Sure enough text retained sharpness.
This worked as long as I did not readjust the size of the window in Preview. Which is a shame. Also, I cannot find a way to change the zoom in/ out intervals. The "jump" is too great for me. I wish it would have smaller increments when zooming in. When I type the command or click zoom in/out buttons, the change is a little too much for me. I wish I could change the defaults for that.
I'd hate to download another app as my pdf editor/annotator. I really like preview and I don't want unnecessary software on my Macbook.
Hopefully they will fix this bug. It's embarrassing for Apple
Same issue, as of El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31), July 19, 2016. Running on multiple Macs, including Mac Pro with 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5.
For the record, it's not just a little blurry, but almost illegible.
Persian_1123 - I think the reason your technique is somewhat successful is because your method results in view sizes of 100%, 150%, 200% etc. and not in irrational zoom ratios like 133% or 166%. Anyone who spends a lot of time in photo editing software knows that the effects of sharpening on an image are best evaluated at 100% or 50% or even 75%, but odd zoom sizes result in your screen interpolating and rounding the pixels in ways which create viewing artifacts that distort the actual sharpness.
When you start with 100% and use the keyboard commands to zoom in and out, Preview usually (but not always) selects tidy zoom ratios like 50% and 150%. When you resize a window with 'zoom-to-fit' enabled, you are much more likely to get untidy zoom ratios like 133% or 87% which require more pixel manipulation to display.
When I say your technique is 'somewhat successful' I mean 'making the best of a bad solution' - and not, 'a fix for Apple's screw up' - which still exists for me in OS 10.11.6.
I've unchecked font smoothing, and sent feedback to Apple, but I am still unhappy with Preview PDF quality. Tried using Safari - which does display PDFs better than Preview - but Safari is not as user friendly when changing display sizes. For example, Safari does not indicate what zoom level is being displayed - and I can't figure out how to get Safari to zoom to exactly, say, 150%.
I'm seeing the same behavior in El Capitan 10.12.2.
Upgrading to OSX Sierra 10.12 fixed this for me.
Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem or a suggestion for change. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem/suggested change solved sooner.
What version of Preview are you using ?
Font in Preview blurry
