1. A method for forming a halftone image on recording media, the method comprising: providing a recording head comprising a plurality of individually addressable recording channels; operating the recording head to form a plurality of image swaths, each of the image swaths being formed during a separate scan over the recording media; identifying a plurality of locations within a representative unit cell of the halftone image; determining a quantified value for each location, wherein each quantified value is determined based at least on a sub-scan misalignment associated with a proposed merging of two image swaths at the location corresponding to the quantified value; selecting a merge location from the plurality of locations, the merge location corresponding to a desired one of the quantified values; and operating the recording head to form the halftone image on the recording media while merging a first image swath and a second image swath at the selected merge location within a first unit cell of the halftone image.