There are two types of fonts used by the printer and screen display, bitmap fonts and outline fonts. Bitmap fonts are digital representations of fonts that are not scalable. This means they have a set size or a limited set of sizes. For example, if a document using a bitmap font sized to 24 point is sent to the printer and there is not a bitmap font of that size, the computer will try to guess the right size. This results in the text looking stretched-out or squashed.
Jagged edges are also a problem with bitmap fonts.
Outline fonts are mathematical descriptions of the font that are sent to the printer. The printer then raster graphics or converts them to the dots that are printed on the paper. Because they are mathematical, they are scalable. This means the size of the font can be changed without losing the sharpness or resolution of the printed text. TrueType and Type 1 fonts are outline fonts.