Luminous printing

A method of printing images, the method comprising:

• separating an original image comprising a set of original channels corresponding to color formats into multiple layers by a computing device, the layers being distinct from color formats;
• associating a different set of channels corresponding to the color formats with each of the multiple layers, wherein the different set of channels are configured to be used to generate a printed image that is substantially invisible under normal daylight and visible in substantially full and accurate color under Ultra Violate (UV) black light;
• wherein separating the original image into multiple layers comprises separating the original image into two layers including a brightness layer and a darkness layer;
• wherein separating the original image into two layers comprises:
• extracting brightness information from the original image to obtain a grayscale image mask;
• applying the grayscale image mask to the original image to generate the brightness layer and determine a first set of channels associated with the brightness layer;
• determining an inverse of the brightness information from the original image;
• and
• applying the inverse of the brightness information from the original image to each channel of the set of original channels of the original image to generate the darkness layer and a second set of channels associated with the darkness layer;
• and
• printing the brightness layer and the darkness layer using the first set of channels and the second set of channels.

A printing system comprising:

• a printing press configured to print images;
• and
• a computing device coupled with the printing press, wherein the computing device is configured to digitally separate an original image comprising a set of original channels corresponding to color formats into multiple layers, the layers being distinct from color formats, associate a different set of channels corresponding to the color formats with each of the multiple layers, wherein the different sets of channels are configured to be used to generate a printed image that looks substantially equivalent under daylight conditions and Ultra Violate (UV) black light conditions, wherein computing device is configured to separate the original image into multiple layers comprises separating the original image into two layers including a brightness layer and a darkness layer;
• wherein separating the original image into two layers comprises:
• extracting brightness information from the original image to obtain a grayscale image mask;
• applying the grayscale image mask to the original image to generate the brightness layer and determine a first set of channels associated with the brightness layer;
• wherein computing device is configured to determine an inverse of the brightness information from the original image;
• and apply the inverse of the brightness information from the original image to each channel of the set of original channels of the original image to generate the darkness layer and a second set of channels associated with the darkness layer;
• and
• wherein computing device is configured to print the brightness layer and the darkness layer using the first set of channels and the second set of channels.