Microtype package with Libertine font

Question

In the microtype documentation it advices one to use settings that complement one's choice of font. I use libertine font. Does anyone know of any options or settings that specifically suit this font?

Answer 1

I created a few preliminary config files for microtype and libertine for usage with pdflatex. They're publicly available from my Bitbucket site.

• bitbucket.org/cgnieder/microtype-config

They're all named mt-<fontname>.cfg and if placed in a suitable place in the local TEXMF tree will be picked up automatically by microtype. This files are far from being complete and surely need a lot of improvement as can be seen in the output of the following sample document. Especially the protrusion lists still are more or less simply those for Computer Modern:

% part of `mt-LinuxLibertineT-OsF.cfg':
\SetProtrusion[name=LLO,load=cmr-T1]{
  encoding = *,
  family   = LinuxLibertineT-OsF
}{
  {,} = { ,600},
   -  = {400,600},
   ?  = {200,300}
}

Unfortunately my typographic knowledge is one based on the reading of a few books and my untrained eyes. If someone more experienced likes to improve those files I'd be more than happy.

---

\documentclass[twocolumn]{scrartcl}
\usepackage[english]{babel}

\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage{libertine}
\usepackage{microtype}
% this is the contents of my `microtype.cfg':
% \DeclareMicrotypeSet{scshape}{
%   encoding = {*} ,
%   shape    = {sc,scit,si}
% }
% \DeclareMicrotypeSet{romansans}{
%   encoding = {*},
%   family   = {rm*,sf*}
% }
\microtypesetup{
  tracking   = scshape ,
  protrusion = romansans ,
  expansion  = romansans
}

\usepackage{blindtext}

\begin{document}
\blinddocument
\end{document}