Type set with @font-face looks fine cross-platform for subhead and headline-size type. No need to revert to sIFR or Cufon on that score. It’s body copy that’s problematic.
Jeffrey, it’s not quite that simple. On Mike’s site, Museo Slab looks good cross platform at larger sizes because it’s a Postscript OpenType font as opposed to a TrueType OpenType font. Postscript fonts seem to disable ClearType anti-aliasing on Windows (on my Vista machine, at least) in favour of GDI rendering, which looks much better at larger sizes, but not so good at body sizes. The reverse is (often) true at body sizes: TrueType-based fonts, when well hinted, look better than Postscript.
Examples:
Linux Libertine set large
The top instance is set in the TrueType version while the bottom is Postscript (both are OpenType). The top version is noticeably more jaggy.
Linux Libertine set small
In this case, the well-hinted TrueType version on the top looks sharper, while the Postscript version looks a little blurry and washed out.
So the advice I’d give regarding this is: make sure text set at larger sizes on Windows is of the Postscript variety, while at body sizes, make sure you only select well hinted fonts.
Charles Roper
Jeffrey, it’s not quite that simple. On Mike’s site, Museo Slab looks good cross platform at larger sizes because it’s a Postscript OpenType font as opposed to a TrueType OpenType font. Postscript fonts seem to disable ClearType anti-aliasing on Windows (on my Vista machine, at least) in favour of GDI rendering, which looks much better at larger sizes, but not so good at body sizes. The reverse is (often) true at body sizes: TrueType-based fonts, when well hinted, look better than Postscript.
Examples:
Linux Libertine set large
The top instance is set in the TrueType version while the bottom is Postscript (both are OpenType). The top version is noticeably more jaggy.
Linux Libertine set small
In this case, the well-hinted TrueType version on the top looks sharper, while the Postscript version looks a little blurry and washed out.
So the advice I’d give regarding this is: make sure text set at larger sizes on Windows is of the Postscript variety, while at body sizes, make sure you only select well hinted fonts.