Fun fact: part of the reason your printer needs all toners is because it prints an identification pattern unique to the printer on every document (which uses those colors).
I can’t find it now but IIRC it works differently - not by adding dots but by subtly modulation the laser power. It’s more like traditional steganography.
Fun fact: your electronic devices that render graphics are completely capable and in my opinion almost certainly do this as well. We use a business version of it at our enterprise and while it is additional software layered over windows, it’s completely imperceptible to the naked eye and I doubt such technology wouldn’t be immediately rolled out as quickly as possible by pretty much everyone at a “top secret” level.
Fun fact: part of the reason your printer needs all toners is because it prints an identification pattern unique to the printer on every document (which uses those colors).
I hate modern printers.
Don’t worry, they hate you too!
Its not even a “modern” printer thing. They’ve done this since the 80s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots
But now with modern printers they can have email addresses and locations.
Tracking dots, right?
Do anyone know a printer that doesn’t do that?
I’m pretty sure you just earned an entry on some surveillance list lol
I’m already on a couple ones so all good 😊
Black ink only printers can’t print in yellow.
Unfortunately there are techniques that work with black and white printers too. I don’t know if any have actually been implemented though.
I hadn’t heard that. I guess imperceptible grey is just as good.
I can’t find it now but IIRC it works differently - not by adding dots but by subtly modulation the laser power. It’s more like traditional steganography.
Dot matrix printers don’t do it.
That doesn’t require tracking when you’re the only guy who still uses a dot matrix printer.
https://xkcd.com/1105/
I’m honestly kind of surprised there isn’t an even more relevant xkcd comic.
So my black and white printer is untraceable!
those use yellow ink afaik.
the yellow went down when printing b/w only (which we usually did) on our old officejet pro that had separate tanks for each color.
Fun fact: your electronic devices that render graphics are completely capable and in my opinion almost certainly do this as well. We use a business version of it at our enterprise and while it is additional software layered over windows, it’s completely imperceptible to the naked eye and I doubt such technology wouldn’t be immediately rolled out as quickly as possible by pretty much everyone at a “top secret” level.