Model-based techniques for digital halftoning

Model-based halftoning techniques exploit the properties of the display device and the human visual system to maximize the quality of the displayed images. They rely on accurate models of the display and human perception. The focus of this paper is on printers but similar techniques can be applied to other display devices. We review two model-based techniques, the modified error diffusion algorithm and the least-squares model-based algorithm. Both algorithms produce images with high spatial resolution and visually pleasant textures. We also examine blue-noise screening techniques, which attempt to approximate the performance of error diffusion with minimal computation. We examine the performance of these halftoning techniques using both model-based quality metrics and subjective evaluations.