QUESTION
List here which packages can be used to make text easier to read and nicer to look at. After all, the superior typographic quality is one of the main reasons to prefer LaTeX to, for example, MS Word.
ANSWER
The microtype package, which enables pdfTeX's microtypographical enhancements such as character protrusion and font expansion.
From the Wikipedia article on microtypography:
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- The width of glyphs can be increased or decreased. These methods are sometimes called expansion. (Bringhurst 2005) suggests about 3% expansion or contraction of interword spacing and about 2% expansion or compression of glyphs. Compare Kashida in Persian typography.
- Glyphs at the end of a line can be extended beyond the end of the line to create a more even line at the edge of the text. This is called protrusion or hanging punctuation.