Java2D Graphics anti-aliased

Assuming you actually want smooth (non-aliased) text, TextLayout may make this easier. The FontRenderContext constructor can manage the anti-aliasing and fractional metrics settings.

Addendum: Using g2d.setColor(Color.blue) seems to produce the expected effect.

Addendum: On Mac OS X, the Pixie application in /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/ is convenient for examining the anti-alias pixels. On other platforms, Zoom may be used.

/** @see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4285464 */
public class BITest extends JPanel {

    private BufferedImage image = createNameOnButton("Sample");

    public BITest() {
        this.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(
            image.getWidth(), image.getHeight()));
    }

    @Override
    protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        super.paintComponent(g);
        g.drawImage(image, 0, 0, null);
    }

    public BufferedImage createNameOnButton(String label) {
        Font font = new Font("Arial", Font.PLAIN, 64);
        FontRenderContext frc = new FontRenderContext(null, true, true);
        TextLayout layout = new TextLayout(label, font, frc);
        Rectangle r = layout.getPixelBounds(null, 0, 0);
        System.out.println(r);
        BufferedImage bi = new BufferedImage(
            r.width + 1, r.height + 1,
            BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
        Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) bi.getGraphics();
        g2d.setColor(Color.blue);
        layout.draw(g2d, 0, -r.y);
        g2d.dispose();
        return bi;
    }

    private void display() {
        JFrame f = new JFrame("BITest");
        f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        f.setUndecorated(true);
        f.add(this);
        f.pack();
        f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
        f.setVisible(true);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {

            @Override
            public void run() {
                new BITest().display();
            }
        });
    }
}