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While designing some personal stuff, I encountered troubles copy-pasting a banknote image into Photoshop CS2.

I saved a Dollar bill from the web to my desktop, but trying to open it, even copy-pasting it into Photoshop, I get this warning:

This application does not support printing of banknote images. You can open and edit this image but you will not be able to print it as is. For more information, select the information button below for Internet-based information on restrictions for copying and distributing banknote images or go to rulesforuse.org.

I opened the image with another editor, re-saved it and no success.

I tried with another image from Wikipedia and it worked.

I searched for an explanation and what i found so far is EURion rings. Maybe there are other algorithms.

The EURion constellation is a pattern of symbols incorporated into a number of banknote designs worldwide since about 1996. It is added to help imaging software detect the presence of a banknote in a digital image. Such software can then block the user from reproducing banknotes to prevent counterfeiting using colour photocopiers. Research shows that the EURion constellation is used for color photocopiers and is likely not used for computer software.

Now I know why this happens, but does anyone know how to bypass this Photoshop security, asside installing viral patches?

Other references:

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    Have you tried editing the image in something like GIMP or Paint.NET? They might let you open the image so you can modify the EURion rings.
    – snowdude
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 10:25
  • Hi, no i did not try those softwares. I will give a try. Thanks Commented Jan 3, 2014 at 19:56
  • Your question is ambiguous. First you say you save as a file to the desktop and open it, then you say 'copy-paste'. These are two different things. Which is it? Edit your question
    – Jan Doggen
    Commented Nov 20, 2014 at 14:05
  • Also, as seen from comments below the EURion rings are probably not the cause. You imply they are.
    – Jan Doggen
    Commented Nov 20, 2014 at 14:07
  • For the people of the future: the EURion constellation may be the cause of the problem. It is definitely worth removing one of the dots in MS Paint, GIMP, etc. to see if it works; this was the culprit on images of Series F Bank of England notes. These were released after CS6, so perhaps there is some sort of supplemental banknote database for older banknotes preventing the removal of the constellation from correcting the problem. ~~~~~Edit: This does appear to be the case; removing the entire left half of a US Series 2009 $100 bill (come to the constellation) did not enable it to be edited
    – Tortoise
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 8:12

5 Answers 5

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One thing you can try is to crop or embed the image in a much larger image and work from there. One of the researchers into EURion and related shows that taking such images and then cropping them very slightly can cause the software to "err on the side of false negatives".

Source: Software Detection of Currency

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  • i love this. Digging in, i come back later, thanks Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 8:39
  • It did not work. I could find another safe image (without the EURion dots) so i could finish my theme. Commented Jan 3, 2014 at 19:32
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Well, self answering about how to bypass Adobe counterfeit deterrence system (CDS)

Use adobe photoshop 5 or older versions that are not part of the Creative Suite series.

This situation lead me to more 'security' features from imagery software. Sexually explicit images displaying young people face can be also blocked. I could read an article about a company which had a legitimate authorization from UK government to reproduce banknotes for artistic reasons but could not get from Adobe another answer than 'No, you are not authorized'.

All patchez I could read about on the internet were viral and/or dangerous.

(hint for future generations of artists : keep your legacy softwares safe)

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    I'll go you one better: use open source software ( GIMP ) so you are not chained to whatever idiotic things Adobe wants.
    – psusi
    Commented Dec 21, 2014 at 15:08
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If the image is a PDF you can create an Automator Application or hot folder that renders the PDF as a PSD. There may be other Automator steps that can do the same for different file formats. Once it's saved off as a PSD it's editable and can be saved and reopened. Automator Steps

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You can open a banknote image by copying little pieces (about 10% of the space) of the image from another editor and pasting them to the Photoshop.

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Edit the image to remove the EURion. I suggest overwriting that portion with "SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE" so that nobody accidentally attempts to spend it.

And yes I am being a little bit snarky. Banknotes are not just copyright they are made hard to copy for good reason, and you had better have an equally good reason for making a high-fidelity copy.

If it isn't the EURion which is a problem then likely putting "SAMPLE" across the image, or blurring it, will break whatever watermark is being used.

It's hard to think of any purely personal application where producing a high-fidelity copy of a banknote is necessary. But if you have legitimate (e.g. academic research) reasons, you might try using the GIMP.

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    You didn't read the Wikipedia article pointed to in the question, which clearly explains that Photoshop doesn't use the constellation in the first place.
    – JdeBP
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 11:01
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    @JdeBP, no, I didn't. The question itself said that it was because of EURion.
    – Ben
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 11:34

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