Q: Font in Preview blurry

Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem solved sooner.

Feedback

Is the problem fixed in the newest 10.10.2 update?

No, it isn't. Actually I'm guessing if Apple even cares about the problem, because it only affects non-retina-users.

I am using mavericks (MB Pro 2011), and was about thinking to get a retina display or a new eye examination, because the pdfs were blurred !!  I just googled and found this tread. The same applies here, when adjusting height the fonts get blurred and when adjusting width they appear sharp again, ridiculous. Needs a quick fix from Apple. Apple support can you hear?

Problem still exists in 10.10.2. Have reported to Apple Feedback. Hope they fix it. Weird that it looks great if you open the file via Safari.

yes please file a bug via https://bugreport.apple.com/. The more of us making some noise there, the greater the likelihood they will go and fix this.

It's easy: just call it "pdf blurry on Yosemite", refer to this discrussion thread or to https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2joxlh/os_x_yosemite_1010_bug_thread/cle isr8 and attach a system report.

To obtain a full System Information Report on OS X:

1. Select "About This Mac" from the Apple Menu

2. Click the “More Info…” button on the About This Mac window

3. Click “System Report…” on the next About This Mac window

4. Select "Save…" from the File menu (cmd-s)

5. Change the file name and save location as needed

6. Click the "Save" button

try turning off "smooth text and line art"

This does not work for me. In fact, it goes from this:

to that:

I filed the bug with Apple and they say it's a duplicate. Hopefully they are working on it.

What I have found as a temporary solution is to open Preview, set the desired windows width (but not full screen) and then press Cmd+1.

That improves the text sharpness, but it doesn't fix the issue, since I preferably use the full screen mode to read PDFs.

There is a work-around to be found at this stackexchange answer: It basically suggests replacing Yosemite's PDFKit with Mavericks' PDFKit. However, this workaround will likely be undone by any operating system upgrades.

I have just tried this and can confirm that it works.

Yup, I noticed that too - same now under El Capitan, so no change there.

Im having similar problem.

Had the same problem with last Imac, late 2009.

I use two screens, now on a Imac 27, retina, late 2015. The secondary screen is a Dell U2412M.  (Thunderbolt-Hdmi)

In some windows text gets "out of fokus" - does not matter what font is used.

In preview some files like word, excel doesn`t "clear up" after 2-3 seconds, but remain out of fokus. Pdf- files clear up after 2 sec..

Pretty big problem if u ask me. Everything works fine on the Imac- screen. Wordfiles, PDF- files, everything clears up pretty fast. But not on the secondary screen. Have tried different cables and so on..

I've noticed the same issue with Preview 8.1 under Mac OS 10.11.3.

PDFs that used to be crisp at all magnifications and at Actual Size are now blurry and pixelated at all sizes including Actual Size.  They're on the verge of unreadable, as documents such as bank statements leave me guessing as to what the numbers really are.

Does Apple really want me to install Adobe Acrobat Reader?  Ugh.

Thank God I'm not the only one! For the longest time I thought my eyes were going bad or that my macbook screen (non-retina) was going bad. I ran Yosemite, now I'm on the latest of El Crap-itan. I noticed this too and it is so ANNOYING. I think preview is an amazing app, but there needs to be more attention given to it. Who knows....maybe they'll drop support for preview like they did Aperture. Nothing surprises me anymore. They have been getting sloppy the past 5 years.

Thank you for the other commenter who mentioned Safari's pdf-reading capabilities that is not harmed by the bug that plagues Preview.

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