linux-font-improvement-hack.txt

Lifted from https://github.com/Lend27/linuxstuff/blob/master/debfontsmoothing
Create a file called .fonts.conf in your home directory, and put the following contents in it:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM 'fonts.dtd'>
<fontconfig>
 <match target="font">
  <edit mode="assign" name="rgba">
   <const>rgb</const>
  </edit>
 </match>
 <match target="font">
  <edit mode="assign" name="hinting">
   <bool>true</bool>
  </edit>
 </match>
 <match target="font">
  <edit mode="assign" name="hintstyle">
   <const>hintslight</const>
  </edit>
 </match>
 <match target="font">
  <edit mode="assign" name="antialias">
   <bool>true</bool>
  </edit>
 </match>
  <match target="font">
    <edit mode="assign" name="lcdfilter">
      <const>lcddefault</const>
    </edit>
  </match>
</fontconfig>




This will enable subpixel-hinting and font-smoothing. 
Now just restart X.org (log out, then back in again). 
Read more here:
https://wiki.debian.org/Fonts