Microsoft ClearType is an unprecedented innovation in font display technology that dramatically improves font display resolution and marks a genuine breakthrough in screen readability.

• What is ClearType?
• The ClearType Collection fonts
• Microsoft ClearType FAQ
• A technical overview of ClearType filtering

Backwards Compatibility of TrueType Instructions with Microsoft ClearType
Redmond, WA. - May 2009
This whitepaper by Greg Hitchcock teaches font designers how to optimize their fonts for ClearType.

ClearType in Windows 7
Redmond, WA. - June 2009
Blog post by Greg Hitchcock discusses the engineering changes to ClearType in Windows 7.

Updated online ClearType tuner
Redmond, WA. - March 2007
The online tuner has been updated for Windows Vista users.

The ClearType Collection fonts
Redmond, WA. - 30 January 2007
Sample layouts and information is now available for download.

ClearType Collection article
Prague, CZ. - 10 January 2005
The latest issue of Typo magazine has an article on Microsoft's ClearType Collection fonts.

PowerToy Tuner
Redmond, WA. - 1 November 2004
This Windows XP PowerToy lets you activate and tune your ClearType settings via the Windows Control Panel.

The Science of Word Recognition
Redmond, WA. - 27 July 2004
Kevin Larson’s unabridged paper on the science of word recognition written from the perspective of a reading psychologist.

ClearType tuner updated
Redmond, WA. - 26 September 2002
Our updated ClearType Web interface for Windows XP allows users with Windows XP Service Pack 1 to configure ClearType for the rare BGR configuration of color LCD monitor as well as the more common RGB displays.

ClearType in Windows XP
New York, NY. - 25 October 2001
Windows XP launches with ClearType support.

Microsoft's finest achievement
c|net - 24 June 2001
"Microsoft's finest achievement with Windows XP may have nothing to do with flashy features. The new operating system uses Microsoft's ClearType font-rendering technology, which makes text viewed on liquid-crystal displays (LCD) unbelievably sharp." Joe Wilcox for c|net.

Pixel perfect
MIT - 16 May 2001
Microsoft has received its first major ClearType patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Study - ClearType helps
Clemson, SC. - 11 April 2001
A study undertaken by researchers at Clemson University reveals that users preferred text rendered with Microsoft ClearType and that ClearType yielded higher readability judgments and lower ratings of mental fatigue.

ClearType paper presented
Redmond, WA. - 16 May 2000
A ClearType related paper 'Technical Overview of ClearType Filtering' was presented at the Society for Information Display 2000 conference today.

Microsoft issues ClearType technology release
Redmond, WA. - 7 April 1999
Advice for hardware manufacturers.

For more ClearType related news, see our ClearType news links page.

Windows XP was Microsoft's first operating system release to include system wide ClearType support. Windows 7 includes a built-in ClearType tuner that can be found in the Control Panel under Appearance and Personalization. Windows Vista and XP users can use the ClearType Web tuner or downloadable PowerToy Tuner to tune their ClearType settings.

This is a picture of ClearType under extreme magnification, with the sub-pixels of an LCD explicitly rendered to show the structure of the ClearType letterforms.

15 November 1998
ClearType officially announced during COMDEX/FALL '98 - press release.

26 January 2000
First ClearType screen grabs released to the public.

18 April 2000
First ClearType enabled product, The Microsoft Reader for Microsoft Pocket PC is released.

8 August 2000
The Microsoft Reader with ClearType is released for Windows based laptop and desktop computers.

25 October 2001
Windows XP, with ClearType support is launched.

26 October 2001
Online ClearType tuner released.

26 September 2002
Updated online tuner allows ClearType for rare BGR displays supported by Windows XP SP1 to be activated and tuned.

22 September 2004
Windows XP PowerToy version of the ClearType tuner posted.

January 2007
Windows Vista and Office 2007 ships with ClearType Collection fonts and ClearType on by default.

March 2007
Windows Vista versions of online ClearType tuner posted.