Patent ID: 7086666

Claim:
An information-bearing assembly comprising: a first layer, the first layer having an imagewise halftone pattern of microholes formed therein, each microhole penetrating at least partially through a thickness of the first layer such that light transmissivity of the first layer within said half-tone pattern is imagewise differentiated at each microhole; and a second layer coupled to the first layer, the second layer covering the imagewise half tone pattern of microholes in a manner that permits transmitted light to reach the microholes; wherein the second layer comprises a material that is substantially optically clear in the visible spectrum; wherein the microholes have sufficiently small structural dimensions such that, under unassisted visual inspection, the imagewise halftone pattern is (a) substantially imperceptible when the information-bearing assembly is viewed in reflection, and (b) substantially perceptible when the information-bearing assembly is viewed in transmission.