Difference between writing and print

I've noticed that there are sometimes slight differences in stroke diagrams vs rendered fonts.
I'll use き for example, there's a break in the curve in the stroke diagrams, but it's one continuous stroke in the font.
It happens for some kanji too. 人 is completely symmetrical in the font, but slightly different in writing according to the stroke diagram I looked at from WWWJDIC.
Is there a preferred way of writing this on paper or does it not matter? Just curious about the reason and whether or not this is something I need to pay attention to.

I think it looks prettier (and more "professional" if you use the handwritten version, but I'm sure that the Japanese can read your sentences even if you write the characters as you see them on the computer screen. Remember, there are differences between handwritten and printed text in English, too. For example, look at the letter 'a'!

Yeah, for example - how many people do you think write in the style of Times New Roman? That's how It think it.