Digital Color Halftoning (SPIE PRESS Monograph Vol. PM68)

Rating:
Summary: The Gold-toned standard
Review: Before this book came along, the must-have text was Ulicheny's Digital Halftoning (MIT Press). Everyone (who cares about halftoning or dithering) had it and used it, and in fact Kang references it extensively. The problem is that Ulichney's 1986 state-of-the-art had a huge number of gaps. Like color, multi-level (rather than bilevel) output options, and combining ordered and random dithering techniques.

Kang covers these areas and cites all the work since then. It's not as clearly organized (having 3 PhD thesis readers must have helped Ulichney). It also lacks any code samples (what? shipping product?), for which Graphics Gems, Vols. I-V are about the only options.

Still, if your work requires you to do any halftoning implementation or modification, you need this book. If you can only afford one, read Ulichney from the library and then buy Kang since he quotes the earlier work extensively.