We’ve had increasing interest by our customers on how to best maintain the integrity of digital watermarks. Here are a few tips and tricks that should help in the long run:

High strength watermarks survive the best.
Make sure to embed your images with a higher strength; this just means you are putting more watermark signal into your image. With our new "Chroma" technology, we suggest using an embed strength of 3 or 4, as the watermark should still be imperceptible. It is also easier for your watermark to survive when you save your final image at a maximum quality setting in Photoshop.

I’m a newbie at Digimarc and have dived headfirst into all the possibilities that digital watermarking has to offer. Prior to Digimarc, my only exposure to action codes was of the QR variety. The graphic designer in me shouted, “They’re so ugly!” Now that I’ve been introduced to Digimarc Discover™, I’m thrilled with the possibilities of an imperceptible solution. With digital watermarking, magazines and catalogs wanting to provide print-to-mobile experiences no longer have to sacrifice valuable real estate with square barcodes. House Beautiful is a great example of a publication doing some cutting edge mobile initiatives with Digimarc Discover.

In my quest to find information to share in our social media world, I came across Stereo Abstract who is an Online Services Portal customer. It’s exciting to see that our customers have taken the possibilities of digital watermarking and created their own pieces of art. Check out the preview of his interactive art book powered by Digimarc Discover.  He’s upped the value factor and plans on taking his readers on a journey – not just to his website but to content-rich videos about his artist background and influences. Thank you for the inspiration Stereo Abstract, and we look forward to your upcoming creation!

InPublishing just wrote an exciting article about how Armani launched a campaign that uses digital watermarks. This campaign was delivered by Digimarc's partner Digital Space in the UK.

You've probably noticed that a lot of campaigns today are starting to incorporate different types of codes that enable consumers to interact with the brand or product. Digital watermarks are an imperceptible alternative; much more appealing than your typical QR code or machine readable codes. We like to say: The bridge from print to online doesn't have to be square!

We've already seen magazines like House Beautiful, Xbox 360, Photoshop User, and many more integrate digital watermarks into their publication. And we're starting to see a lot of traction and interest with digital watermarks, so we'll continue to update you as more publications hit the street using technology enabled by Digimarc Discover.

Australia’s Public Accountant is the first financial magazine to use digital watermarking. There are five digital watermarks in the October/November issue of Public Accountant. There’s also an entire page educating readers on the technology, informing readers where to find the watermarked content throughout the issue, and how to use the Digimarc Discover app.

Interested in learning about Consumer Law in the Land Down Under? On page 33, you’ll find an
explanatory video on The Australia Consumer Law that went into effect on January 1, 2011. Check it out – you might learn something.

In the Oct/Nov issue, you can also order accounting handbooks and guidelines right from the printed page. If you’re an IPA member, you get 15% membership discount that can be applied immediately. And if you’re not an IPA member, find out how on page 79.

(Sorry, Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol fans. The banana on the cover is not a peel off sticker.)

For some reason smartphone manufacturers neglect to tell us that your smartphone camera does NOT take a photo when you tap on the shutter button. The camera takes the photo when you RELEASE the shutter button, or at least it does on iPhone and Android phones that follow the OS specs.

So... when you are trying to get that photo of your kids, pet or a group that's in motion, try this: Place your finger on the shutter button and release it when you see the shot you want to take.

You'll avoid shaking the phone by not tapping on the shutter button. You could get a shot of your friends or kids smiling! Better photos in less than 30 seconds.