1. A method of compiling information for unique identification of one document from among a plurality of documents, the method comprising steps of: receiving a representation of the one document; extracting minutiae data items from the representation of the document, in accordance with defined identification criteria, sufficient to uniquely identify a hardcopy of the document; collecting metadata regarding the representation of the document; storing the extracted minutiae data items in association with the collected metadata, in a searchable database of data regarding the plurality of documents.