Printer tracking dots (steganography)
From Kook Science
Printer tracking dots are steganographic watermarks produced by colour laser printers and copiers that contain digital codes (typically in the form of patterns of yellow dots) that can be used for forensic tracking purposes, allowing the identification of the serial number of a particular printer or copier that was used to produce a document. Most manufacturers of such printers and copiers are now known to implement this or similar technology in their products, enabling the tracing of a printed document back to the printer or copier of origin. Such watermarks are ostensibly intended for use as anti-counterfeiting measures.
Selected Patents
- US5515451A. Image processing system for selectively reproducing documents. Assigned to Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. 7 May 1996, filed 7 Oct. 1933. https://patents.google.com/patent/US5515451A
Reading
- List of Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots (2015), https://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots