Method for utilizing halftoning structures to manipulate the relative magnitudes of diffraction orders to ultimately construct the desired projected-image. At the resolution limit of the mask maker, this is especially useful for converting strongly shifted, no-0.sup.th-diffraction-order, equal-line-and-space chromeless phase edges to weak phase-shifters that have some 0.sup.th order. Halftoning creates an imbalance in the electric field between the shifted regions, and therefore results in the introduction of the 0.sup.th diffraction order.