Antialiasing methods for laser printers

Abstract

Font and graphics antialiasing are often used methods of enhancing the output quality of video monitors. The same techniques also can enhance the quality of laser printer output. Since the laser printing process and the monitor display process differ radically, the assumptions made for antialiasing on monitors are reexamined. Raster scanning, laser modulation, xerographic transfer, information transfer, and computation are examined in the context of laser printer antialiasing. Past work on antialiasing algorithms is evaluated. A practical method of performing anti-aliasing of text, graphics, and images is developed. Standard antialiasing scan conversion algorithms are adapted to function on two dimensional binary bitmaps of vector data. Computation issues are discussed, and a fast localized scan conversion operation based on statistical models is developed and evaluated. Finally, an architecture for the high bandwidth modulation of the laser by both power and time is developed, implemented, and evaluated.