The present invention relates to linking on-line data to printed documents, such as business cards, envelopes, stickers, stationary, letterhead, résumés, etc. In one embodiment, a card-user registers with an on-line
database and receives a gallery item including a steganographically-embedded
unique identifier. The gallery item, such as a graphical background, text, shading, graphic, etc., is integrated and then printed with a document. The printed document can then be presented an optical-
scanner, which outputs data. The output data is decoded to identify the
unique identifier. The
unique identifier is then used to index into the on-line
database to retrieve information related to the proprietor of the document. In one embodiment, the on-line
database includes features such as providing an immediate
contact number, translation and / or pronunciation ability, and storage of audio / video files.