Binarization of continuous-tone pupil filters: a comparison of several digital halftoning procedures

Nine digital halftoning procedures, including two algorithms proposed by us, are compared to find out which one is best suited for binarization of continuous-tone pupil filters. The procedures we deal with include iterative, error diffusion, error convergence and one-pixel algorithms. In our numerical experiment the performance of binary filters is examined in terms of two parameters: the resemblance of their amplitude impulse response (AIR) to the AIR of the original continuous filter, as well as their light efficiency. The examination is carried on for super-resolving, apodizing and sine-wave pupil filters. The results are to a certain extent object dependent, nevertheless some general conclusions are presented.