Anti-counterfeiting method and apparatus using digital screening.

An apparatus and process for hiding the secondary image within the primary image and generating a high quality hard copy of the unified elemental image of a variety of media. The process comprises the steps of rasterizing the first image into a first elemental image and rasterizing the second image, compensated with its own inverse, into a second elemental image. The elemental image and the second elemental image are merged into a unified elemental image based on a predetermined decoding and compensating principle, resulting in thesecond elemental image being hidden within the first elemental image. An output image is created based on the unified elemental image where the primary image is visible to an un-aided eye while the secondary image is hidden from the un-aided eye.