This paper addresses the problem of converting a 2d digital object, i.e. a set 𝑆 of points in ℤ 2 , into a finite union of balls ℬ centered on ℝ 2 , such that the digitization of ℬ is exactly 𝑆 and the cardinality of ℬ is minimum. We prove that, for the specific case of 2d hole-free digital objects, there exists a greedy polynomial-time algorithm. The algorithm is based on the same principle as the simple greedy optimal algorithm for the interval cover problem. After bringing to light under which conditions the latter algorithm can be extended to tree-like structures, we show that such a structure can be defined for any hole-free 2d digital object, so that the extended algorithm applies.