• superniceperson@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    2 days ago

    It may not be true for commercial printing, but it is absolutely true for all consumer printers made since the mid 1990s.

    Some can produce B&W identification marks, but every consumer printers stamps every single page printed with identification marks with at minimum the printer model and serial number.

    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      2 days ago

      Right, but that’s not the reason it won’t print if you’re out of a color. Especially since you can still print in B&W only mode. Or you certainly used to be able to, but I’m still using the same color laser from >10 years ago for home use, and an old Brother photo printer for things that need to be higher resolution.

      If you use a Brother printer with ecotank cartridges, you can get an empty yellow cartridge and fill it with water if you’re worried about tracking dots. You’ll want to run a few cleaning cycles first to ensure that all the residual yellow is gone from the yellow print head.

      …Or you can buy a typewriter at a pawn shop with cash, and dump it once you’ve written the ransom note/bomb threat. If you’re counterfeiting stuff, you should probably consider the printer to be a consumable item that gets discarded and replaced after every batch.

      Also, not every printer made since the mid-90s does that. See here