I'm trying to optimize my font for small, set sizes on-screen (9pt, 11pt, 13pt) specifically for osx. i don't know very much about font-exporting and the rasterization process, but i'm told that i font-hinting doesn't work on osx because quartz doesn't listen to the hints. is there any other method of optimizing fonts for small sizes on macs? the only other solution i can think of is to make separate font files for each size… and that just seems downright sloppy.

sorry this is a bit of a novice question, but my usual solution of scouring the internet for an answer hasn't been pointing me in any helpful directions.

thanks in advance!

It is simplified, but generally speaking these are main possible paths with default settings.

X axis is market share (with some guessing).

I know a small examples of renderings could be included for better understanding, and I will post this & other refinements later.

A few things not mentioned:
Linux with FreeType rendering, but I have no idea how many people use subpixel rendering or other settings. Each setting has probably less than 1% of users.
Quartz rendering does also other types than subpixel AA, but I would say they are in minority (I really don't know).
There is also an old version of Safari, with Quartz rendering on Windows with default setting.