Abstract: Methods and apparatus for smoothing an image representation for printing and display purposes. The invention recognizes that for smoothing purposes, there are only a limited number of patterns that require such smoothing, normally not exceeding a few hundred. It is therefore practical to compare an input image to a plurality of pre-determined patterns. If a match is found, then the input image is replaced by a corresponding pattern that was empirically found to be more suitable for the purposes of printing or display. Alternate embodiments of both the methods and the apparatus are disclosed.