Patent ID: 7164369

Claim:
A method of compressing a digital image having a plurality of pixels, each of said plurality of pixels represented by a sequence including three ordered symbols, said method comprising: (a) organizing a plurality of said symbols into a first bit plane, each said symbol in said first bit plane occupying the same position in a respective sequence of ordered symbols for a pixel, wherein said first bit plane represents the most significant bit; (b) organizing a plurality of said symbols into a second bit plane, each said symbol in said second bit plane occupying the same position in a respective sequence of ordered symbols for a pixel; (c) organizing a plurality of said symbols into a third bit plane, each said symbol in said third bit plane occupying the same position in a respective sequence of ordered symbols for a pixel; (d) compressing said image by compressing said first bit plane; (e) compressing said image by compressing said second and third bit planes together as a group, wherein said first bit plane is compressed separate from the combination of said second and third bit planes, wherein said compressed first bit plane has a lower degree of loss than said compressed second and third bit planes.