Digital Watermarking Technology

In recent years, new technologies have evolved for applying barcodes to packaging and labels. One of these technologies is digital watermarking.

A digital watermark is a packet of data that is embedded in digital or physical media, such as an image, the artwork on a package, or a label. The watermark’s data can be scanned and read like the data that is carried by any other type of barcode symbol, while the watermark itself can be invisible.

Whether a watermark is visible or invisible depends on how it is used. For example, watermarks that protect copyrighted information or provide product authentication might be hidden, but watermarks that carry trade information, such as those that are used on shipping labels, might be visible. Watermarks can be invisibly incorporated into package design artwork, which makes the watermarked version of the package indistinguishable from the original.

Some watermarking technologies also support the use of a visible barcode symbol that can appear on the package together with the invisible watermark.