Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: mrmining on August 23, 2013, 06:54 am

Title: Thermal label printers
Post by: mrmining on August 23, 2013, 06:54 am
I don't know if this a stupid question.. but I'd prefer to ask and sound stupid than risk customers safety.

So I am using a $80 brother thermal label printer to print labels.. the type you hook up to a PC.
I've got the PC side of things covered, but is there any risk that the addresses being printed are leaving traces in the actual printer itself ? Maybe there is onboard memory or something.. ?

what do all you other people do ?
Title: Re: Thermal label printers
Post by: BenCousins on August 25, 2013, 11:29 pm
bumping coz interested
Title: Re: Thermal label printers
Post by: CHROOT on August 26, 2013, 12:05 am
I don't know if this a stupid question.. but I'd prefer to ask and sound stupid than risk customers safety.

So I am using a $80 brother thermal label printer to print labels.. the type you hook up to a PC.
I've got the PC side of things covered, but is there any risk that the addresses being printed are leaving traces in the actual printer itself ? Maybe there is onboard memory or something.. ?

what do all you other people do ?

The government began inserting hidden tracking dots in color laser printers in the 90s to stop backyard counterfitters. Almost all of them still use this technology.

The EFF maintains a list of all printers that have secret tracking dots. Here's a link. https://w2.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/

So long as it's not a laser color printer the EFF says you're safe.
Title: Re: Thermal label printers
Post by: SpaceAce on August 26, 2013, 12:19 am
I would not be surprised if there is some kind of RAM that at least keeps the last address printed saved on the device. I'm not sure if it leaves dots though and I can't find any imformation on the label printers.

Chroot is right about the laser printers. You should avoid them even if they aren't on the list of printers that leave dots. Some of them do that aren't on the list. You could always check it with a microscope. :p
Title: Re: Thermal label printers
Post by: mrmining on August 30, 2013, 05:45 am
That is interesting about the green dots. I didn't know that. Are the green dots the exact same in every printer ? The dots can just be used to tell its fake, and not where it came from, right ?

I know some of the really big network printers (the massive ones that photocopy, print, scan) that you would find in an office will store the data you had printed, with no option to turn that off.

When my thermal printer breaks one day I'll take it apart and see if it leaves any evidence. Maybe the last thing you printed is visible on something, who knows.

Thanks for the info



Title: Re: Thermal label printers
Post by: PathSeeker on August 30, 2013, 05:53 am
Also curious.  I think thermal printers generally just have a little print head that heats up the approiate areas on the paper as it passes through.  As for ram, I'm not sure either?  Assuming your computer isnt storing those addresses in the clear any where...I guess that would only be an issue if it was cacheing them to an hd as opposed to ram.
Title: Re: Thermal label printers
Post by: trellis017 on August 30, 2013, 06:42 am
The government began inserting hidden tracking dots in color laser printers in the 90s to stop backyard counterfitters. Almost all of them still use this technology.

I thought you were trolling when I started reading this. Then I realized you were serious. This is half terrifying and half awesome.