Image Dither (Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, Bayer)
Classic 1-bit dithering in your browser. Pick a photo or screenshot and apply one of seven algorithms: pure threshold (cut at any luminance), Floyd-Steinberg error diffusion (the standard for natural images), Atkinson (the classic Apple Mac / Macintosh / HyperCard look), Sierra Lite (a faster diffusion variant), or ordered Bayer matrices in 2×2, 4×4, or 8×8 sizes (best for repeating textures and authentic Game Boy / e-ink display aesthetics). Pick custom foreground and background colors — defaults are black and white, but you can use any pair (e.g. amber+black for Apple II look, or Game Boy green tones). Optional pixel scale (1×–6×) preserves the dot pattern at larger sizes without smoothing.
How to use
- Pick an image with the Choose file button or drag and drop it.
- Choose an algorithm: Floyd-Steinberg for photos, Atkinson for that classic Macintosh look, Bayer for an authentic retro game / e-ink texture.
- Adjust the luminance threshold (50% / 128 is neutral) and optionally swap foreground/background colors or invert.
- Scale up (×2 / ×4) without smoothing to keep the dot pattern crisp at larger sizes.
- Click Download to save the result as PNG.
Frequently asked questions
- Which algorithm should I pick?
- Floyd-Steinberg is the safe default for photographs — it diffuses error to neighboring pixels and produces a smooth, organic look. Atkinson is the Macintosh classic — it only spreads ¾ of the error, giving a brighter, slightly stippled appearance that's recognizable from Susan Kare-era Mac graphics. Bayer 2/4/8 matrices give a tileable, regular pattern that looks like retro game console graphics or e-ink panels.
- Does this work on color images?
- Yes. The image is first converted to luminance (per ITU-R BT.601: 0.299·R + 0.587·G + 0.114·B), then dithered to two colors. To keep color, look at the Image Posterize or Image Channel Splitter tools.
- Why does the output look pixelated when scaled up?
- That's intentional. Image scaling uses nearest-neighbor (no smoothing) so the dot pattern stays crisp instead of becoming a smudged grayscale. This matches how pixel art and dithered displays are normally upscaled.
- Is the dithering deterministic?
- Yes — for a given image, algorithm, threshold and colors, the result is always identical. None of the algorithms here use randomness; the Bayer ones use a fixed matrix and the error-diffusion ones are deterministic raster-order scans.
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