IMAGE-RELATED METHODS AND SYSTEMS

When a user prints a photograph from an online source, such as Facebook, a hidden digital watermark is automatically embedded in the printed output (e.g., by the printer, or by a cloud-based printer driver, by the user's smartphone, etc.). When someone later images the printed photo with a smartphone, the phone uses the watermarked information to link back to Facebook, and present the viewer with all of the commentary and context associated with that environment. By such arrangement, the richness of the photograph's network metadata is preserved—even after printing. Moreover, the online information presented via the smartphone is real-time information, including the latest crowd-sourced annotations. Thus, the printed photo may yield a different experience today than yesterday. In some embodiments, the watermark links different viewers (e.g., peers v. parents) to different online experiences—all from the same photograph. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.