The invention relates to decoding digital information, where a surface of an object is illuminated with a first optical illumination from a first direction, the surface comprising microscopic embossed data units encoding digital information. A first primary digital microscopic image is recorded from the microscopic embossed data units with the first optical illumination. The surface is further illuminated with a second optical illumination from a second direction different from the first direction, and a second primary digital microscopic image is recorded from the microscopic embossed data units with the second optical illumination. A secondary digital microscopic image of the microscopic embossed data units is generated from the first primary digital microscopic image and the second primary digital microscopic image, and at least a part of the digital information is generated from the secondary digital microscopic image.