ImperialViolet

Subpixel hinting uses that fact that LCD displays have separate red-green-blue cells in order to triple the x resolution of the display resulting in nicer fonts etc.

However, this assumes that the system knows the ordering of the cells in the LCD, and this differs from system to system. If, when you look at your fonts, you see a red and blue tinge at the edges of vertical strokes, your font render has guessed wrong.

In that case, drop this little file into your homedir as ~/.fonts.conf, restart programs and everything will be fixed. You're welcome.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd">
<fontconfig>
       <match target="font">
               <edit name="rgba" mode="assign"><const>gbr</const></edit>
       </match>
</fontconfig>