A minimal change of settings parameters for quality images with matplotlib

set_plot_settings.py

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def set_plot_settings(font_size=18):
    # a font that is very close to LaTeX.
    plt.rcParams['mathtext.fontset'] = 'stix'
    plt.rcParams['font.family'] = 'STIXGeneral'

    # ticks with the same width as axis, and consistent with font size (below)
    plt.rcParams['axes.linewidth'] = 1
    plt.rcParams['xtick.major.width'] = 1
    plt.rcParams['ytick.major.width'] = 1

    # set grid to be very light so it does not distract
    plt.rcParams['grid.alpha'] = 0.2
    # there is no reason for an alpha != 1 for the legend box (anything beneath it is distracting)
    plt.rcParams['legend.framealpha'] = 1

    # They should depend on the size you give to the figure, but should be equal.
    plt.rcParams['axes.labelsize'] = font_size
    plt.rcParams['xtick.labelsize'] = font_size
    plt.rcParams['ytick.labelsize'] = font_size
    plt.rcParams['legend.fontsize'] = font_size