OLE-like principles are implemented using watermark data in digital objects in order to effect object linking or embedding. In one embodiment, a photocopier scans an original paper document to produce image data. This image data is analyzed for the presence of watermark data identifying a graphic on the document. With this watermark identifier, the photocopier can query a remote image database for pristine image data corresponding to the scanned graphic. This pristine data can be relayed from the remote database to the photocopier and substituted into the scanned image data. Output printed from the photocopier is thus based, at least in part, on pristine image data, rather than on image data that has been subjected to various corruption mechanisms (e.g., degradation of the original paper document, artifacts due to scanning, etc.). A "photocopy" better than the "original" can thereby be achieved.