Reminds me of the typewriter registration in East Germany.
Yep, good observation, it really is the same thing, and amazing people put up with it.
Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
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Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#12[deleted]
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#13[deleted]
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#14Ahem. Most COLOR laser printers have tracking "watermarks". It's because the US Treasury frowns on printing your own replica currency, which would be unastonishingly easy to do with a color scanner and printer.
Actually, it's because consumer electronics manufacturers don't have the spines to stand up for their customers.
Why should they. It's YOUR government. You do it.
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, it's because consumer electronics manufacturers don't have the spines to stand up for their customers.
Why should they. It's YOUR government. You do it.
What do you mean it's mine? I didn't create, buy, or even sanction it. The only options I have are avoidance and general scorn.
Printer manufacturers are the ones voluntarily saying 'yes, master'. I have no control over any aspect of that situation.
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#16Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#17Well-known, I'm afraid. You can find more information here: http://www.eff.org/issues/printers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_steganography It's probably related to the counter-measures against printing currency: https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/photoshop-and-curr... There's some interesting information about what causes an image to be detected as currency here: https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~sjm217/project…
Well known among geeks - is it well known among the public?
I'm not talking paranoid - the government are spying on me - public, but what about doctors, lawyers, pharmacy, social services, employment tribunals, unions.
There is a lot of confidential information I can track about you by simply pulling plank bits of paper or envelopes from your garbage.
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#18On a similar (but tangential) note: US currency notes have similar yellow circles, which are detected by photocopiers, which, in turn, then either (a) refuse to photocopy them, or (b) mangle the copy (put vertical bars through it).
Try photocopying a $20 bill on a copier and see for yourself.
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#19Reminds me of the typewriter registration in East Germany.
Yep, good observation, it really is the same thing, and amazing people put up with it.
In East Germany you didn't have a chance (unless you wanted to be in prison or even more surveillance) and nowadays, most people don't know this is occurring and so its not an issue.
There might even be a bias against publicizing it by media, as the encoding has assisted police in several cases to track down criminals or alleged criminals.
Re: Most laser printer printed pages have tracking watermark
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, it's because consumer electronics manufacturers don't have the spines to stand up for their customers.
Why should they. It's YOUR government. You do it.
Like how they ignored everyone on bail outs, and the people against SOPA, etc etc etc. How they taunt us with those stupid online petitions. How the police are beating people.
Yeah. Doing something works.