Simulating more colors and shades in a palette. In a monochrome system that displays or prints only black and white, shades of grays can be simulated by creating varying patterns of black dots. This is how halftones are created in a monochrome printer.

In color systems, additional colors can be simulated by varying patterns of dots of existing colors. Dithering cannot produce the exact same results as having the necessary color depth (levels of gray or colors), but it can make shaded drawings and photographs appear much more realistic.

Dithering is also used to create a wide variety of patterns for use as backgrounds, fills and shading as well as for creating anti-aliasing effects.