Printer tracking dots

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/printer-tracking-dots

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When They Appeared?Developed in the mid-1980s by companies like Xerox and Canon
2. What is the related topics?Digital watermarking, printer steganography, machine identification code (MIC), digital forensics
3. Why do printers put those dots on paper?To give each printer a unique fingerprint so people can find out which machine printed a page.
4. How can someone see the dots if they are invisible?Special scanners and software can look closely and read the pattern of the tiny dots.

Digital Watermark: A hidden pattern or message embedded in digital content for identification, authentication, or copyright protection.
Printer Steganography: The practice of concealing information, such as machine identification codes, within printed documents.
Machine Identification Code (MIC): A specific term for the tracking dots that encode information to identify a particular printing machine.