Google Open Sans font does not display correct weight in Google Chrome

Question

I use the Google Font 'Open Sans' on my website.

I noticed the incorrect font weight was being displayed for certain links. My regular text has a font-weight of 300, while my links have a font-weight of 400. However, all the links look the same as the regular text.

I navigated to the Google Fonts website:

http://www.google.com/fonts#UsePlace:use/Collection:Open+Sans

and noticed something interesting.

• On Windows, on Google Chrome, the Light 300 and Normal 400 versions are identical.
• On Windows, on Firefox, IE, and Safari they are not.
• On Ubuntu, on Google Chrome, they are not.

The issue seems to be isolated to Google Chrome (latest version) and Windows (version 8.0).

My fonts are loaded onto my website using a link in the header.

<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:400,300' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

However, the issue is not isolated to my website, as the Google Fonts site itself shows the same issue.

I wanted to ask for someone's help with this issue. I have read online about other issues with Google Fonts, such as smoothness, but nothing on font-weight.

Answer 1

It turns out I had a desktop version of the "Open Sans Light" font installed in my Windows machine.

After reading this thread: Issue 340: Open Sans 400 is showing as condensed light in Chrome

and uninstalling the font, the issue went away.