A copy-resistant coupon including a human-readable section with text
formed by reflective areas and dark-colored areas, and a machine-readable
bar code section composed of reflective bars appearing in a light-colored
background. Photosensitive devices used in copiers and bar code scanners
interpret the reflective areas as dark, such that the reflective bars in
the bar code stand out as dark in high contrast to their light-colored
background, and are easily readable by the bar code scanner, while the
human-readable section when copied will show reflective areas and
dark-colored areas both as dark with little or no contrast between them
and revealing that copying has taken place. The coupons are made with
printing methods that apply dark- and light-colored inks to metallicized
paper, or apply metallic inks to dark- or light-colored surfaces of
papers.