Adaptive methods for dithering color images

Most color image printing and display devices do not have the capability of reproducing true color images. A common remedy is the use of dithering techniques that take advantage of the lower sensitivity of the eye to spatial resolution and exchange higher color resolution with lower spatial resolution. In this paper, an adaptive error diffusion method for color images is presented. The error diffusion filter coefficients are updated by a normalized least mean square-type (LMS-type) algorithm to prevent textural contours, color impulses, and color shifts, which are among the most common side effects of the standard dithering algorithms. Another novelty of the new method is its vector character: Previous applications of error diffusion have treated the individual color components of an image separately. Here, we develop a general vector approach and demonstrate through simulation studies that superior results are achieved.