Demystifying the Halftoning Process: Conventional, Stochastic, and Hybrid Halftone Dot Structures

For more than 150 years, printers have been faithfully reproducing continuous tone originals using halftoning techniques. For about 120 years, printers could only use the AM halftoning technique invented by Henry Talbot. In recent years, the advent of powerful raster image processors and high-resolution output devices has increased the variety of halftoning techniques available to the printer. In particular, FM and Hybrid techniques can be used to increase the aesthetic qualities and fidelity of printed reproductions. In this article, the authors demystify each of these new halftoning techniques that provides benefits and drawbacks. Printers and students of printing need to test these techniques to ensure that their benefits outweigh their costs. (Contains 7 figures.)