How do I Identify a Printer's ID Signature?

It is possible to track printed documents back to their original printer or photocopier, based on a serial number that is attached to each print-out. The identifying mark comes in the form of white and yellow dots invisible to the naked eye, according to PC World. This means the government and printer companies can trace printed documents back to the individual machine it came from and the time and date it was printed, if the machine has that technology. Only the government and the printer companies know what the markings mean.

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Printer
• Blue LED light
• Print-out
• Microscope

1. • 1
     Print out a document. The page does not have to be filled as the markings
     will appear no matter how little is printed.
   • 2
     Switch off the lights and shine a blue LED light on the piece of paper.
     Inexpensive versions are available for purchase online. Run the light over the
     paper and you'll see a series of small dots. The dots appear black under the blue
     light.
   • 3
     Place the page under a microscope if you do not have a blue light, at
     a magnification of at least 10x or more and you will see the dots.
   • 4
     Send your sample print out to the EFF if you are curious to find out more about
     what the dots mean. The EFF is currently conducting research to categorize the
     markings of each printer so it is no longer such a mystery to the public.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are unhappy with this practice then the Electronic Frontier Foundation encourages you to write to the printer company to express your concerns. This is because the printer companies have done this initiative by themselves and there is currently no US law that requires them to embed print-outs with serial numbers.
  Credits : http://www.ehow.com/print/how_6860492_do-identify-printer_s-id-signature_.html

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