Patent ID: 6907634

Claim:
A method for generating a multi-colored pattern on an absorbent substrate with an electronically-actuated patterning device, said pattern being defined and generated as an array of individually colored pixels on said substrate, said patterning device having a relatively small number of available process colors and said pattern exhibiting a substantially greater number of colors than the number of said process colors, said method comprising the steps of: a) making available a multi-colored target pattern in digitized form to be reproduced on said substrate; b) selecting the process colors to be used by said patterning device to reproduce said target pattern, said process colors comprising red, green, magenta, yellow, and at least one other color; c) establishing a dithering palette comprised of said process colors; d) generating, on a display device, a dithered image of said target pattern using said dithering palette; and e) transforming said dithered image into pixel-wise patterning instructions for said patterning device.