The complexity of 24 bits true colour technology is the main problem a
ssociated with the display of colour images. However, the average user
in digital microscopy possesses only an 8 bit workstation (256 colour
). In these cases quantization and dithering algorithms represent a va
lid solution for the display of images having the same quality of 16 m
illion colour images. In this paper we will present and analyze these
algorithms, showing the results of their application to digital micros
copy images.