They’ve taken over signs, advertisements and publications in Japan – even used on tombstones (no kidding). We’ve seen more and more trials, pilots and rollouts in many regions, and they are slowly creeping into our favorite newspapers and magazines in the U.S. Yes, I’m talking about barcodes and tags. In recent months I have spoken to many publishers who are clearly desperate to reinvigorate their businesses and are looking for ways to bring together print, web and mobile initiatives. They see the promise of connecting print to the digital world so they can deliver the same interactive, multi-sensory experiences that consumers flock to the web for from magazines and newspapers. And, right now, they see barcodes and tags as the means to this end.

The problem is, every single publisher I’ve spoken with hates the appearance of barcodes as they take up precious real estate on the page. Hence the “love/hate” relationship. When presented with alternatives, like digital watermarking, they light up and want to know more...

Digital watermarking offers the same benefits of QR codes and solutions like Microsoft Tag, but without impacting the beauty of the design or take up precious space. This is even more important when space is extremely limited, such as with product packaging and advertisements – or when you want to link multiple items/images on a page to different content options. Also, digital watermarks can uniquely identify each instance of a piece of content for very granular reporting and metrics – something not available when using image recognition or fingerprinting technologies.

So, take heart. There is another option for enabling new consumer experiences from print. You don’t have to impact the aesthetics of ads or articles to deliver exciting, compelling new content that is sure to engage your readers. Try out an "invisible barcode." And, you can do this through the end of May for free! Visit our new Online Services Portal to see how it works.