Publisher's Synopsis
A method for generating a data-bearing image is implemented by an encoding system including a halftoning module and an encoding module that stores encoding rules associated with respective codes. In the method, the halftoning module converts a grayscale image into a halftone image having a plurality of image cells each consisting of a plurality of dots, at least one of which is a first-tone dot and each of the rest of which is a second-tone dot. Afterward, the encoding module generates a data-bearing halftone image encoded with at least one of the codes by maintaining or changing the number of the first-tone dots in one of the image cells based on one of the encoding rules associated with the at least one of the codes.
