Forming a character-based monochromatic image from a digital representation of a color image by (1) forming a character-based representation of the color image in which a plurality of color characters each describe the background and foreground color within a defined area of the color image, (2) providing a plurality of color pattern masks each corresponding to a color in the color image and comprised of a pattern of light and dark dots capable of providing, in the monochromatic image, visual discrimination between areas of different color, (3) transforming the color characters to monochromatic characters by replacing the background and foreground color of each color character with the corresponding pattern of light and dark dots, and (4) displaying the monochromatic characters on a character-based output device (e.g., a CRT display driven by a character-based controller).