Time for action – comparing Computer Modern to Latin Modern

We shall print out a very famous pangram phrase, once using the standard font Computer Modern and once using the Latin Modern font. Because Latin Modern is very similar to the standard font, but supports diacritics much better, while providing very high quality, it is widely considered that it will become the successor to the standard font. We will just compare serif and sans-serif typefaces:

1. Start a new document. Create a macro for the pangram plus numerals and use it:

   \documentclass{article}
   \newcommand{\pangram}[1][\rmfamily]{{#1 The quick brown fox jumps
   over the lazy dog. 1234567890}\par}
   \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
   \begin{document}
   \large
   \pangram
   \pangram[\sffamily]
   \pangram[\ttfamily]
   \pangram[\itshape]
   \pangram[\slshape]
   \end{document}

2. Typeset and look at the font shapes:

   

3. Add this line to the preamble:

   \usepackage{lmodern}

4. Typeset again and compare:

   

What just happened?

You might notice that the fonts are indeed looking the same. So...