System and method for adjusting printing operations in a direct-to-object printer having limited drop size variation printheads

A printing system comprising:

• at least one printhead, the printhead being configured to eject marking material;
• a support having a first end and a second end, the at least one printhead being positioned opposite the support and between the first end and the second end of the support;
• a holder configured to hold an object and to move along the support between the first end and the second end of the member;
• an actuator operatively connected to the holder, the actuator being configured to move the holder and an object within the holder along the support to a position opposite the at least one printhead and to rotate the object;
• and
• a controller operatively connected to the at least one printhead and the actuator, the controller being configured to operate the actuator to move the holder and the object with the holder to the position opposite the at least one printhead, to operate the actuator to position a face of the at least one printhead parallel to a surface of an object to be printed that has a varying circumference and to rotate the object, to modify contone image data to adjust a pixel density of an image to be printed on the surface of the object, to produce binary image data using the modified contone image data and a stochastic halftone filter, and to operate inkjets within the at least one printhead using the binary image data to form an image on the object with the varying circumference as the object rotates.