This reminds me that in the USSR they had typewriters that added an identifier somehow that could be traced back to that particular typewriter (and who it was sold to)

▲

kvuj 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

You have no idea how deep this rabbit hole goes. Search for EFF printers secret tracking.

Virtually all commercial printers embed an invisible identifier on every page printed.

▲

imhoguy 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Now I need to see if agentic reverse engineering of printer firmware can actually remove that "feature" for good.

▲

kube-system 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Virtually all color laser printers and copiers.

▲

esafak 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It was about money anti-counterfeiting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots

	▲	SV_BubbleTime 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		There is always a legit reason. It’s just never the only reason.

▲

srean 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Not only USSR.

I wonder whether Arthur Conan Doyle had the idea before the police started using typewriter typeface wear and tear for forensics.

▲

testing22321 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Sure, try to scan, photocopy, edit in photoshop or print US money today.