A nonwoven is provided having a pattern displaying at least two groups of areas having different optical properties distinguishable to reading and decoding equipment. The pattern may be arise from differences in the microstructure of the web. The nonwoven material may have an embossed pattern having a basic, static component and a dynamic component which varies within a given length of the nonwoven web. Further, a method is provided for obtaining information from a nonwoven web, comprising observing the web surface using an optical reading device, collecting data based on differences in optical properties in the web surface, storing in a digital memory a pattern based on the collected data and comparing the stored pattern to a collection of previously stored patterns.