A watermark can be embedded in an image that has the property of being relatively indecipherable under normal light by including a distraction pattern, and yet remains decipherable under infrared illumination when viewed by a suitable infrared sensitive instrument. This infrared mark comprises, a substrate reflective to infrared radiation, a foreground colorant mixture printed as an image upon the substrate, a background colorant mixture and a distraction colorant mixture. A resultant collocated image rendered substrate suitably exposed to an infrared illumination, will yield a discernable image evident as a infrared mark to a suitable infrared sensitive device, but remain undecipherable under normal ambient light.