Method and system for printing forensically encoded 2D barcodes

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods and systems for printing forensically encoded 2D barcodes. A system for forensic encryption may be described. The system may include: a 2D barcode pattern comprising a plurality of standard 2D barcode elements printed in an area on a printable surface and which is affixed to a unique product; and at least one glyph printed within the 2D barcode pattern; wherein the at least one glyph is generated from information identifying a unique product; and wherein the 2D standard barcode element can be decoded by a first 2D barcode scanner to produce product information, and wherein a second scan is performed by a user to verify whether the label in hand corresponds to the glyph displayed on a screen. In another embodiment, the 2D barcode pattern includes at least one glyph, and the 2D barcode pattern can be decoded by a second 2D barcode scanner to produce different product information.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese patent application 201680064561.5, entitled “Method and system for printing forensically encoded 2D barcodes”, filed on September 27, 2016. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to two-dimensional barcodes, and more particularly to methods and systems for printing forensically encoded 2D barcodes. Background Art

[0003] A two-dimensional or "matrix" barcode (such as a QR code) is an information storage and transmission technology that represents data in the form of a visible matrix. Typically, a two-dimensional barcode records data information using a special geometric pattern distributed in two dimensions via black and white, or in the case of some multi-colored graphic symbols. In most two-dimensional barcode encoding formats, a stream of logical "0" and "1" bits, such as those commonly used in computer systems, is used to form a graphic symbol corresponding to a binary representation of text and digital information. Once formed, the graphic symbol can be read by an image input device or an optoelectronic scanning device (such as a dedicated barcode scanner or a smartphone) to process the information encoded within the graphic symbol.

[0004] Two-dimensional barcodes are commonly used in a variety of roles, such as product identification, product tracking, anti-counterfeiting, security, and general marketing. Of the two-dimensional barcodes in use, QR codes are particularly popular because they offer fast read times and greater storage capacity than standard UPC barcodes, and because individuals can easily scan QR codes using a smartphone or other device. Other standards for two-dimensional barcodes that may be used include Aztec Code, Datamatrix, PDF417, MaxiCode, QR variants such as SPARQCode, or color barcode formats such as Microsoft's High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) encoding format, as well as other two-dimensional barcode standards.

[0005] However, the popularity of the QR code format has some disadvantages when bar codes are expected to be used for security or authentication purposes. As technology has developed, and as devices (such as smartphones) configured to scan bar codes have become increasingly popular, methods for encoding and decoding QR codes have become well known and widely available. However, in the field of security and anti-counterfeiting, QR codes generally cannot be used alone to authenticate products, because counterfeiters may be able to decode the QR code on a special product and then generate a seemingly valid QR code to attach to the counterfeit product.

[0006] Other 2D barcodes may suffer from the same disadvantages. As special 2D barcode designs become more popular and more accepted by the public, the ability to decrypt the barcode may become available to more members of the public, which may include counterfeiters. In turn, this may limit the value of barcodes as security and anti-counterfeiting tools. However, there are 2D barcode designs that have not yet become popular or accepted by the public, and their value for any use other than as security and anti-counterfeiting tools is limited, and even in this role can be used in a limited manner. For example, if a special 2D barcode design used to mark a product does not have a publicly disclosed method for decrypting it, and requires the user to download a proprietary app (application) to decrypt it, few users may bother to download the app or scan the barcode of the product in order to learn more about the product.

[0007] This means that companies that use special 2D barcodes to mark their products may have limited ability to track their products after sale by determining which products are being scanned and where they are scanned. This also means that companies that use special 2D barcodes to mark their products have a significantly reduced ability to identify counterfeit products by looking for the same product barcodes scanned in multiple different places. For example, if a product barcode is scanned in New York on Monday, and the same product barcode is scanned in California on Tuesday, the company may be able to identify at least one of the two products as a counterfeit. However, if the user does not choose to scan their product, the company may not understand the matching barcode and may not know to take action. However, using a proprietary barcode format that may not be easily decoded by an end user may not be a desired solution either. Summary of the invention

[0008] According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a system for forensic encryption can be shown and described. The system can include: a 2D barcode pattern having a plurality of standard 2D barcode elements printed in an area on a printable surface and affixed to a unique product; and at least one glyph printed within the range of the 2D barcode pattern, the 2D barcode pattern saving space on the surface range of the printable surface. The user can single-scan the standard barcode element 102. The barcode element 102 conveys back to the user what the glyph or symbol 104 should look like. A second scan is performed by the user, for example by utilizing the user's vision ability, to verify whether the label in hand corresponds to the glyph displayed on the screen. The present invention contemplates that at least one glyph can be adjacent to the barcode or even on the side of the label opposite the barcode. In another embodiment of the present invention, an image separated from the 2D barcode pattern and at least one glyph or symbol is decoded by a first scanner to produce first information, and the 2D barcode pattern including at least one glyph is decoded by a second scanner to produce second information, so that the first information and the second information are compared with each other. The first scanner may be a specific, dedicated type of reader.

[0009] In another exemplary embodiment, a method for printing a forensically encoded 2D barcode may be described. The method may include storing one or more fonts in a storage module of a printer, the one or more fonts including glyphs to be printed in the forensically encoded 2D barcode; receiving instructions from a computer to print the forensically encoded 2D barcode, the forensically encoded 2D barcode including one or more glyphs, the instructions not including the one or more glyphs to be printed; accessing one or more fonts from the storage module of the printer and using a processor, the one or more fonts including glyphs to be printed in the forensically encoded 2D barcode; using the processor to select one or more glyphs to be added to the forensically encoded 2D barcode; generating the forensically encoded 2D barcode from the instructions and using the processor, the forensically encoded 2D barcode including the one or more selected glyphs; and printing the forensically encoded 2D barcode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a 2D barcode design that includes standard barcode elements and embedded glyphs or symbols.

[0011] Figure 2A is an exemplary embodiment of a product tag lookup system.

[0012] Figure 2B is an exemplary embodiment of a product tag lookup system.

[0013] Figure 2Cis an exemplary embodiment of a product label lookup system.

[0014] Figure 2D is an exemplary embodiment of a product label lookup system.

[0015] Figure 2E is an exemplary embodiment of a product label lookup system.

[0016] Figure 2F is an exemplary embodiment according to the glyph setting of the present invention. Detailed implementation

[0017] Aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following description and in the related drawings of specific embodiments of the present invention. Alternative embodiments may be designed without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Additionally, well-known elements of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present invention. Furthermore, for the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the following illustrative discussion of several terms used herein.

[0018] As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". The embodiments described herein are not restrictive, but merely exemplary. It should be understood that the embodiments described are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Additionally, the terms "embodiments of the present invention", "embodiments", or "invention" do not require that all embodiments of the present invention include the discussed features, advantages, or modes of operation.

[0019] Furthermore, many embodiments described herein are described in terms of action sequences performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that the various action sequences described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) and / or by program instructions executed by at least one processor. Additionally, the action sequences described herein can be embodied entirely within any form of computer-readable storage medium such that execution of the action sequences enables at least one processor to perform the functions described herein. Furthermore, the action sequences described herein can be embodied in a combination of hardware and software. Thus, aspects of the present invention can be embodied in several different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each embodiment described herein, the corresponding form of any such embodiment can be described as, for example, "the computer is configured to" perform the described actions.

[0020] Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a 2D barcode design 100 that has standard barcode elements 102 and glyphs or symbols 104 embedded therein. ForFigure 1 As shown in the image, the user can single scan the standard bar code element 102. The bar code element 102 conveys back to the user what the glyph or symbol 104 should look like. A second scan is completed by the user, for example by utilizing the user's vision ability to verify whether the label in hand corresponds to the glyph displayed on the screen. According to an exemplary embodiment, the standard bar code element 102 can utilize existing standards and can correspond to any existing 2D bar code format, such as, for example, Aztec encoding, Datamatrix, PDF417, MaxiCode or QR encoding. Color 2D bar code formats can also be used, such as Microsoft's High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) encoding format. According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, the standard bar code element 102 itself can be proprietary, and the method of decoding the standard bar code element 102 can be not disclosed to the public; this may be done, for example, to provide an additional layer of security against counterfeiting. According to another alternative exemplary embodiment, a new encoding standard can be developed and can be disclosed to the public.

[0021] The glyph or symbol 104 can be any glyph or symbol within a custom alphabet, or more than one such glyph or symbol. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the symbol can be any symbol within the Latin alphabet or any other alphabet. According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, the symbol can be any Unicode character or any other character within a computerized alphabet or symbol library. According to a third alternative embodiment, a new or custom glyph or symbol group can be developed and used. Other embodiments including any combination of the above can also be used as desired.

[0022] According to an exemplary embodiment, one or more custom fonts may be used to generate the glyphs 104 or other elements of the product label in which the glyphs 104 may be embedded. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, fonts may be generated that include graphical symbols, specific letters, numbers, and logos, all of which may be scalable. This may allow a certain amount of flexibility to be inherent in the production process; for example, if the glyphs 104 are stored as part of a font, then it may be easy to scale them up or down to any desired size in order to match the desired size of the 2D barcode 100 and provide sufficient space for the standard barcode information 102. In one embodiment of the present invention, where at least one glyph is placed adjacent to the barcode, at least one glyph may be placed unnoticeably on the substrate and also save space on the substrate.

[0023] According to an exemplary embodiment, storing the glyphs 104 as part of the font may also increase security in the glyph encoding process; storing the glyphs 104 as part of the font may allow the font to be loaded into the interior of a printing press, allowing the glyphs 104 to be printed by a manufacturer without requiring the manufacturer to directly access the glyphs 104 themselves. This may ensure that anyone with physical access to the manufacturer's computers (such as a rogue employee) does not have the ability to access and copy the fonts, limiting the ability of a counterfeiter to gain access to fonts from a manufacturer without directly stealing the printing press.

[0024] According to an exemplary embodiment, a font storing one or more glyphs 104 may also be preloaded on the printer before the product label data is sent to the printer in order to improve printer throughput or glyph 104 image quality. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, a more accurate drawing engine may be present on the printer than on the manufacturer PC associated with the printer; therefore, glyph 104 image quality may be improved by adding glyphs 104 from fonts stored on the printer rather than fonts stored in a computer associated with the printer. Such an embodiment may also result in substantially improved glyph 104 image quality in certain selected circumstances (such as when the glyph 104 is scaled to be smaller or larger, or in other circumstances where applicable).

[0025] According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, a font storing one or more glyphs 104 may be stored on a computer associated with a printing press. Glyph 104 data may be sent to the printing press before or simultaneously with sending batch label data to the printing press, the batch label data describing the set of product labels to be printed. Smaller or larger batches may be sent to the printing press as needed. For example, smaller batches of product labels sent to the printing press at any one time may allow more frequent changes to specific fields of the product labels between batches, thereby ensuring a more variable and dynamic final set of product labels. However, larger batches may be sent instead to increase the throughput of the printing press. Other advantages may exist in each case.

[0026] Other elements on the product label, such as a displayed serial number, may also be created using a custom font and paired with the 2D barcode 100 for added security. The custom font may have slight but consistent differences from typical fonts that may be used to distinguish counterfeit products from authentic products; for example, according to one exemplary embodiment, a font may be constructed where even and odd numbers have different heights. According to one exemplary embodiment, the use of a special glyph 104 may be paired with the use of a special font for added security; for example, if glyph A is used on a special product label, a font may be selected so that even numbers may have a slightly greater height than odd numbers, and vice versa for glyph B.

[0027] Various arrangements of glyphs 104 within 2D barcode 100 are contemplated. For example, according to one exemplary embodiment, in each variation of 2D barcode 100, the glyphs may be placed at the same, consistent location within 2D barcode 100, such as at Figure 1 , or in another such position as desired. According to alternative exemplary embodiments, the glyph 104 may be placed in an alternative position or multiple positions as desired. According to an exemplary embodiment, the otherwise same glyph 104 may be varied within different variations of the 2D bar code 100, which may or may not be used to encode further information. For example, in a variation of the 2D bar code 100, the glyph may be rotated 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees, or may be mirrored across the X-axis or Y-axis; each of these variations may encode additional data if desired. Various rotations or orientations of the glyph or symbol 104 may be used as desired, and may provide desired or enhanced scanning or reading capabilities of the 2D bar code 100 or symbol or glyph 104.

[0028] Other attributes of the glyph 104, such as glyph color or glyph size, may also be varied, for example, to encode information or to make the glyph 104 more difficult to copy or reproduce. For example, according to one exemplary embodiment, to limit the ability of a counterfeiter to photograph or scan and then accurately reproduce the glyph 104, the glyph 104 may be colored an anti-reproduction color such as non-photo blue / non-reproduction blue. According to another exemplary embodiment, additional features may be added to the glyph 104, such as color circles, dashes, spaces, dots, intentional defects, image "dirt" surrounding characters that resemble excess toner or material from a thermal ribbon, or any other such variation. This may also be used to increase security; for example, according to one exemplary embodiment, the placement, size, shape, or other attributes of the apparent image defects may encode data. Other colors and other variations are also contemplated.

[0029] According to an exemplary embodiment of the design, the standard barcode element 102 and the 2D barcode 100, including the glyph or symbol 104 ("glyph"), may be individually readable. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the 2D barcode 100 may be affixed to a special product. A consumer who has purchased the product may be able to scan the 2D barcode 100 using a 2D barcode scanning utility, and in doing so may be able to decode certain information encoded in the standard barcode element 102. For example, this may be all or part of a unique serial number that may be used to identify the product, or may be other identifying information as desired. However, the barcode scanning utility available to the consumer may not be able to or may not be configured to decrypt all information in the 2D barcode 100, such as information encoded by the glyph 104 or information associated with the glyph 104 (such as information encoded in the glyph arrangement).

[0030] For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the 2D barcode 100 may encode a product serial number that is a number of characters, such as fifteen characters in length. Based on the type or arrangement of the glyphs, the glyphs 104 may encode a number of those characters, such as two of those characters. The remaining characters may correspond to a truncated barcode. According to an exemplary embodiment, the truncated barcode may be sufficient for a user to identify the product. However, the glyphs 104 portion of the 2D barcode 100 may be used by a product seller or manufacturer to identify the product; if a product with a certain serial number is sold, and only a certain type of glyph is associated with the serial number, then if the expected glyphs 104 do not match the scanned glyphs 104, the product may only be identified as counterfeit to the manufacturer. This can ensure that counterfeit products can be identified, even if a counterfeiter manages to reverse engineer the serial number encoding scheme, and can warn the manufacturer as to the location of specifically known counterfeit products, rather than just being marked as potential counterfeit products.

[0031] According to an alternative exemplary embodiment of the glyph 104, it may instead encode information associated with the entire product label, such as a checksum generated from all or a portion of the characters on the label. This may include information that varies routinely from product to product, such as a product serial number or size information of the product. Other information, such as the arrangement of information on the product label, or information that is not on the product label at all, may also be used to calculate the checksum and generate the glyph 104.

[0032] According to an alternative exemplary embodiment, one or more glyphs 104 may be used to identify to the user whether their product is a counterfeit product. According to such an embodiment, the user may enter a product serial number or other product identification information associated with a particular product into an app or web form; for example, they may do this by entering the product serial number or by scanning a 2D barcode 100. The product identification information may have a particular glyph 104 or a particular plurality of glyphs associated therewith; when the user enters the product identification information, the particular glyph 104 or glyphs associated with the product identification information may be displayed to the user. By determining whether the glyph 104 presented on the product they are considering purchasing or have purchased matches any glyph 104 associated with the product identification information they have entered, the user may then be able to verify whether the product has been sold to them, or whether the product they have purchased is a genuine product. If the expected and actual glyphs 104 do not match, the user may wish to reconsider their purchase.

[0033] Such an embodiment provides a potential disadvantage in that a counterfeiter who determines how to counterfeit a serial number or standard bar code element 102 of a 2D bar code can "verify their work" by sending this product identification information to the manufacturer in order to determine the correct glyph 104 or glyphs associated with the information. However, this also has a number of disadvantages for the counterfeiter, as many repeated requests for all glyph information from the same range may alert the manufacturer as to the presence of possible counterfeiting operations in that range - especially if many of the serial numbers being queried are ultimately found on counterfeit products.

[0034] Now go to Figures 2A - 2E , an exemplary embodiment of a product tag lookup system 200 may be disclosed. Figure 2A Initially, a user may first scan a 2D barcode located on a product label or elsewhere using a product tag lookup utility 202, which may be, for example, a proprietary smartphone app or other such utility. The product tag lookup utility 202 may read the 2D barcode or other product identification information, which may be decoded and / or displayed to the user. For example, the 2D barcode may be decoded into a product serial number 204A, which may then be displayed to the user as part of the product record. Other product information 206A, such as the size or dimensions of the product, may also be read and / or displayed to the user; this may allow the user to verify the authenticity of their product if desired by ensuring that all displayed product information matches the attributes of their product. For example, if the displayed product information 206A references a men's garment having a United States (US) size of 101 / 2, and the item in the user's hand has a women's garment having a size of 101 / 2, the user will know that they most likely have a counterfeit item.

[0035] Now turn to the example Figure 2B Once scanned by the user, the 2D barcode may also display an exact description of the 2D barcode 208B as product information. The 2D barcode 208B may include any glyphs or other features that are expected to appear in the 2D barcode 208B, as well as the appropriate arrangement and orientation of those glyphs. This may allow the user to screen for potential counterfeit goods by allowing the user to verify that the 2D barcode on their product exactly matches the 2D barcode 208B displayed by the product label lookup utility 202.

[0036] Now turn to the example Figure 2C The product label lookup system 200 may also provide any other applicable forensic information or other information about the product to the product label lookup utility 202. For example, a user may be provided with a forensic key that displays the annotated product label 210C and lists various errors commonly made by a counterfeiter attempting to reproduce the product label 212C. For example, it may be a specific line of a product label that was created using two different fonts or an esoteric font, such that a counterfeiter attempting to replicate a specific character or symbol using one font ends up accidentally using the other font. Figure 2C In the exemplary embodiment shown, the orientation of the symbol "#" is not expected, which can serve as such a "tell" or indication that the product is a counterfeit. Other such traps for the unwary counterfeiter can be used as desired, such as "traps" with arrangements or orientations that process 2D bar codes.

[0037] A verification status utility 214C may also be available to the user. According to an exemplary embodiment, where a forensic key is provided to the user, once the user has reviewed the forensic key, they may be able to use the verification status utility 214C to mark a particular product as "valid" or "invalid." Other options may also be provided, such as an option to flag for review or an option to provide additional comments.

[0038] Now turn to the example Figure 2D , the verification status utility 214D may include three options: "Invalid", "Suspect", and "Authentic". The "Invalid" option may be selected by a user who knows that the product is obviously counterfeit, while the "Suspect" option may be verified by a user who suspects that the product is counterfeit but is not sure, for example because the irregularities shown are very small and may be within the tolerance of the factory of the product. The last option, "Authentic", may be selected by a user who knows or can verify that the product is authentic.

[0039] The user may have more options to provide feedback regarding the authenticity of the product. For example, the user may have a screen 216D where they can specify whether the product forensics match, or may be able to specify whether the forensics match or not or how closely each forensics match, or any other relevant information. The user may also have another screen available where they can specify any other details 218D that may be related to the inspection status of the product, or may have a screen available where they can provide miscellaneous notes or other text as needed.

[0040] Now turn to the example Figure 2E , the user may also be able to capture and upload a number of photographic depictions of product labels 220E using the product label lookup utility 202. This may include the original image of the product label by default, and may also include other depictions of the product label or the product itself. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the product label of a counterfeit product may be an exact replica, but the stitching of the counterfeit product may be different from the genuine product, marking it as a counterfeit product. The user may be able to capture a picture of the stitching in the counterfeit product and then upload it to show evidence of the counterfeit status of the product.

[0041] Figure 2F An embodiment of the invention is shown wherein at least one glyph is placed adjacent to a glyph arrangement of a dotted pattern of a 2D symbol.

[0042] In another embodiment of the present invention, the forensic encryption system currently illustrated can be used in conjunction with a second authentication encryption system that allows for dual authentication functionality. For example, two different scans can be used for further authentication and encryption. In one embodiment, a first scan is completed using a dedicated reader, and then a secondary scan of the 2D barcode and at least one glyph is completed through an automated process. This allows forensic comparison between the first image and the barcode and at least one glyph. The present invention contemplates a first scan that scans a special image that is separate from the barcode and at least one glyph. The special image may be a watermark or other type of optical image, such as garbled code or technology that senses when special chemicals are present. The image can be incorporated into the 2D barcode or at least one glyph, or completely separated from both. By using a system with dual authentication functionality, the system becomes more automated and less dependent on the user's judgment.

[0043] In one embodiment of the present invention, the 2D barcode pattern including at least one glyph can be decoded by a second 2D barcode scanner to generate different product information.

[0044] The above description and accompanying drawings illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and operating modes of the present invention. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate additional variations of the above-described embodiments; for example, features associated with certain configurations of the present invention may instead be associated with any other configuration of the present invention as desired.

[0045] Therefore, the above embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations may be made to these embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for forensic encryption, wherein include: printing a 2D barcode pattern including a plurality of 2D barcode elements in an area on a printable surface of the unique product, at least one glyph being printed in the area of ​​the 2D barcode pattern; wherein the 2D barcode element is decoded by a first 2D barcode scanner to produce the at least one glyph, and wherein the at least one glyph is decoded by a user to verify the at least one glyph, and wherein the at least one glyph encodes a product serial number associated with the unique product; wherein the at least one glyph encodes certain characters of the product serial number, and wherein the product serial number excluding modifications of the characters encoded by the at least one glyph is attached to the unique product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique product has a product label, the product label having a plurality of printed characters, and wherein the at least one glyph encodes a checksum, the checksum being generated from at least one of the plurality of printed characters.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one glyph is rotated prior to placement, and wherein a degree of rotation of the at least one glyph encodes product information.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein noticeable defects are added to the at least one glyph, the noticeable defects comprising at least one of a color circle, a dash, a space, a dot, and a group of intentional defects surrounding a character, the intentional defects resembling one of excess toner or material from a thermal ribbon. The method of claim 4 , wherein the visible defects encode product information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one glyph is printed in an anti-rendering color.

7. A system for forensic encryption, wherein include: a 2D barcode pattern comprising a plurality of 2D barcode elements printed in an area on the printable surface and the 2D barcode pattern is attached to a unique product; as well as at least one glyph printed within the area of ​​the 2D barcode pattern; and wherein the 2D barcode element is decoded by a first 2D barcode scanner to produce the at least one glyph, wherein the at least one glyph is decoded by a user to verify the at least one glyph, and the at least one glyph encodes a product serial number associated with the unique product; wherein the at least one glyph encodes certain characters of the product serial number, and wherein the product serial number that does not include an alteration of the characters encoded by the at least one glyph is attached to the unique product.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the altered product serial number is encoded in the form of a plurality of standard 2D barcode elements.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the unique product has a product label, the product label having a plurality of printed characters, and wherein the at least one glyph encodes a checksum, the checksum being generated from at least one of the plurality of printed characters.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one glyph is rotated prior to placement, and wherein a degree of rotation of the at least one glyph encodes product information.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein noticeable defects are added to the at least one glyph, the noticeable defects comprising at least one of a color circle, a dash, a space, a dot, and a group of intentional defects surrounding a character, the intentional defects resembling one of excess toner or material from a thermal ribbon.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the apparent defects encode product information.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one glyph is printed in a color that resists rendering.

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