Strategies are set forth herein for quantizing and dithering original
image information to produce quantized image information. According to
one exemplary implementation, the strategies involve: quantizing a sum
that combines an original value taken from the original image
information, a noise value, and an error term, to produce a quantized
value; and calculating an error term for a subsequent quantizing
operation by computing a difference between the quantized value and the
original value. By virtue of his process, the strategies essentially add
noise information to the quantization process, not the original image
information, which results in quantized image information having reduced
artifacts. The strategies can be used in conjunction with the
Floyd-Steinberg error dispersion algorithm. According to another feature,
the noise value is computed using a random number generator having a long
repeat period, which further reduces artifacts.