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Government Uses Color Laser Printer Technology to Track Documents--Tell Buckhead!! Ping Ping!!
PCWORLD.com ^ | 11-22-04 | Jason Tuohey

Posted on 11/22/2004 7:46:00 PM PST by Snapple

WASHINGTON--Next time you make a printout from your color laser printer, shine an LED flashlight beam on it and examine it closely with a magnifying glass. You might be able to see the small, scattered yellow dots printer there that could be used to trace the document back to you.

According to experts, several printer companies quietly encode the serial number and the manufacturing code of their color laser printers and color copiers on every document those machines produce.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bigbrother; buckhead; counterfeiters; forgery; laserprinters; privacy; rights
Maybe this could be used to find out who made the fake documents about Bush's military records.
1 posted on 11/22/2004 7:46:01 PM PST by Snapple
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To: Snapple

COLOR laser.

Does anyone know if all printer manufacturers use this or just Xerox?


2 posted on 11/22/2004 7:48:02 PM PST by 1L
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To: Snapple
There is an easy way to defeat this. When you buy your printer ask which ones have the coded dots, and then don't buy those. They will get the message eventually.
3 posted on 11/22/2004 7:54:15 PM PST by ElkGroveDan (Santorum 2008)
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To: Snapple

These were faxed in, IIRC. I doubt that a fax would transmit color microdots well.


4 posted on 11/22/2004 7:56:20 PM PST by GSlob
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To: 1L
The article seems to imply that most if not all color laser printers employ this technique. (And have been doing so for many years.) They specifically mention Canon later in the article with a "Canon declined comment" type of reference in passing.

My guess is that if you went to market tomorrow with a new brand of color laser your first visitor would be a nicely dressed gentleman from the Treasury Department who'd like to speak with you in private!

5 posted on 11/22/2004 7:56:52 PM PST by Moosilauke
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To: Snapple
Maybe this could be used to find out who made the fake documents about Bush's military records.

Good idea but IIRC as of yet no one has produced an original document. Also, I doubt any of the copies were in color but will grant that they could have been printed on a color laser printer. Finally, they were faxed which allowed the trace-back to Kinko's but likely would not reproduce the faint yellow tagging. Still, there must be an increase in the pucker factor at SeeBS now that this news is out.

6 posted on 11/22/2004 7:58:20 PM PST by NonValueAdded ("We are in the process of allowing them to self-actualise" LtC. Rainey, Fallujah, 11/04)
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To: GSlob
"I doubt that a fax would transmit color microdots well."

Nah, they don't have that resolution.

7 posted on 11/22/2004 7:59:48 PM PST by blam
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To: Snapple
The small, scattered yellow dots

And when you print in grayscale?

8 posted on 11/22/2004 8:01:37 PM PST by steve86
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To: BearWash
And when you print in grayscale?

Or, better yet, remove the color cartridges?

9 posted on 11/22/2004 8:03:20 PM PST by steve86
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To: Snapple
Shhhhhhhhhhh!!! Don't tell any democrats. We WANT them to get caught.
10 posted on 11/22/2004 8:03:47 PM PST by Slyfox
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To: Snapple
Here's the entire article.
11 posted on 11/22/2004 8:11:52 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham
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To: Moosilauke

CANON builds the "engine" for most laser printers no matter what brand they display.


12 posted on 11/22/2004 8:32:27 PM PST by steplock (http://www.outoftimeradio.org)
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To: Snapple

There goes another intel anti-terrorist anti-crime tool exposed, trashed and laughed at.


13 posted on 11/22/2004 8:39:58 PM PST by steplock (http://www.outoftimeradio.org)
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To: Snapple

Ok, I mean it. I'm going to get a dot matrix printer! :)


14 posted on 11/22/2004 8:42:07 PM PST by Wiz
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To: ElkGroveDan
When you buy your printer ask which ones have the coded dots, and then don't buy those.

Good luck with the mouth breathers at Best Buy.

15 posted on 11/22/2004 8:52:00 PM PST by Last Dakotan
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To: Moosilauke

5- "My guess is that if you went to market tomorrow with a new brand of color laser your first visitor would be a nicely dressed gentleman from the Treasury Department who'd like to speak with you in private!"


AGREE - counterfitting tracing.


16 posted on 11/22/2004 10:10:59 PM PST by XBob (Free-traitors steal our jobs for their profit.)
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To: Snapple
Rumor is the NSA inserts something like this on every internet forum but that has been discredited as an Urban Legend.

ECHELON Posting Serial Number 8283920293

17 posted on 11/23/2004 12:19:45 AM PST by AmericaUnited
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To: AmericaUnited

Yes. Well if they do then they will learn that some people on this forum are calling for the mass murder of Arabs.
They are advocating genocide.

One thing I know, if a Muslim called for killing Christians the way some Freeper "Christians" call for killing Muslims, then they would be picked up for inciting terrorism or solicitation of murder.

Some of the people on this forum sound like nazis or commmunists. Extremely intolerent and claiming that "all good Muslims are terrorists, etc."

Terrorists are using Islam. It is not a terrorist religion.
You have to look at how people interprete their religion, not just take it literally. You have to look at how the religion is practiced by most Muslims. Most are peaceful.
A few are manipulating the mass of people and diverting money to terrorism.

Christianity has been abused in the same way. The KKK was a terrorist organization and they claimed to be Christians.
The Soviets controlled many religious organizations and used Christian scriptures to advance their political goals.


18 posted on 11/23/2004 3:11:39 AM PST by Snapple
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