4 ms·
This must result in a non-trivial amount of ink/toner used in the name of security
by teagee 6y ago
This must result in a non-trivial amount of ink/toner used in the name of security
- xiii1408 6y agoThey didn't go into too much detail about how the dots are actually printed (what type of ink, how heavy, etc.), but they imply in the article that at least some tracking dots require a UV light to detect. I'd be curious to know how the dots actually get printed.
- imglorp 6y agoAnd how do they get printed on a monochrome printer like a laser?
- annoyingnoob 6y agoI believe, could be very wrong, that its only on color printers and uses the Yellow color to print dots too small to see with the eye.
- Tuna-Fish 6y agoThere are color laser printers. On a monochrome printer, I guess you can still to steganography by messing with the dithering, I guess? However, since the stated aim of the fingerprinting is to catch money counterfeiters, I guess they are less interested in monochrome.
- ce4 6y agoThat anti feature is absent there. Black instead of yellow dots would be very visible
- redisman 6y agoError: Secret UV ink is empty. Please contact NSA for a new cartridge.
- z77dj3kl 6y agoI'm not sure if normal scanners detect UV light, but that would break a good chunk of their tracking purpose these days if they were not detectable in scans.
- xkeysc0re 6y agoHi, author here! The dots themselves aren't printed with UV ink it's just that the UV light makes it easier to see them due to the yellow ink used. There were images I sent the magazine of the dots from some magazines I scanned, but they didn't run them. If you scan a page and invert it, the patterns are more legible https://i.imgur.com/x1TXa30.png https://i.imgur.com/x1TXa30.png
- joshspankit 6y agoThe dot patterns are much smaller and more dense than I expected
- TwoBit 6y agoI don't understand what I'm looking at here.
- xkeysc0re 6y agoYou should see rows of tightly packed blue dots in repeating patterns - the machine identification codes for a Xerox printer, to be precise. You may have to turn off f.lux to see them
- joshspankit 6y agoInteresting protip: fluorescent compounds are added to all sorts of things: mouthwash bottles, toothpaste, white paper, laundry detergent, and the “bright” colours of printer ink.
- annoyingnoob 6y agoThe last HP Inkjet that I had would go through the Yellow cartridge faster than black, even when printing only Black and White. Which is how I discovered these fun little dots.