Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: "Big Brother" knows when you print!

This is topic "Big Brother" knows when you print! in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 12-08-2005, 01:19 AM:

Supposedly this is to help catch counterfeiters. Apparently, the Secret Service has made deals with a few laser printer manufacturing companies to include special dot codes on the paper to know the date, time, and serial number of the printer you printed from.

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/

Posted by Kyle McEachern (Member # 2250) on 12-08-2005, 01:53 AM:

Earlier thread on this topic

Edit: using the algorithm on the EFF page, the image posted last year by Adam Wilbert (on 11-27-2005) contains the following code (according to them):

Printer serial number: 053166 [or 00053166]

Date: November 28, 2004

Time: 00:52

Column 15 value: 0

The message was posted on November 27, 2004, but that's still pretty durned close.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-08-2005, 05:42 PM:

I remember the thread on the 'laser printer CAP code' and still wonder if the code can be read reliably from a faxed, photocopied or scanned and emailed duplicate of the original printout. Given that we're talking individual pixels, I suspect not, and that the investigator would need to have the original document in order to get the code off it.