Your Printer Is a Narc
Posted on | January 2, 2010 | 26 Comments
Well, maybe not your printer, but my printer is clearly spying on me. Over dinner today, my 20-year-old daughter had a suggestion that inspired me to design a thank-you note to send to our tip-jar hitters. When I went to do a test printing, however, the machine printed only half the card.
Hmmm. Try again, same result. So I looked at the half-printed page, and there was a URL for a Web site, RulesForUse.org, where I read this:
Every country has legal restrictions on the reproduction of banknote images. The counterfeiting of currency is a crime, and while restrictions vary from country to country, in some countries, any reproduction of banknote images — even for artistic or advertising uses — is strictly forbidden. . .
The Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group (CBCDG) is responsible for this website. A counterfeit deterrence system (CDS) has been developed by the CBCDG to deter the use of personal computers, digital imaging equipment, and software in the counterfeiting of banknotes. The CDS has been voluntarily adopted by hardware and software manufacturers, and prevents personal computers and digital imaging tools from capturing or reproducing the image of a protected banknote. . . .
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? OK, admittedly I’m hard up for cash to pay for my trip to Pasadena, but I’m not so totally desperate that I’d resort to trying to print fake money with my laptop. Here is the image in question: Please don’t bust me, Mr. G-Man. I’m not running a counterfeiting racket, just trying to thank the nice folks who are helping me get to Pasadena to cover the BCS action when Alabama wins the national championship Thursday. — Robert Stacy McCain 26 Responses to “Your Printer Is a Narc”
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January 3rd, 2010 @ 12:39 am
According to the rules at the site, as long as the picture on the actual card is less than 3/4 or greater than 1 and 1/2 size, you’re golden. You meet all the other rules.
BTW, what’s the make and model of printer? Your less, shall we say, scrupulous readers might want to keep it in mind when shopping.
January 2nd, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
According to the rules at the site, as long as the picture on the actual card is less than 3/4 or greater than 1 and 1/2 size, you’re golden. You meet all the other rules.
BTW, what’s the make and model of printer? Your less, shall we say, scrupulous readers might want to keep it in mind when shopping.
January 3rd, 2010 @ 12:40 am
I read somewhere that Adobe Photoshop has currency recognition features built in to prevent counterfeiting as well.
January 2nd, 2010 @ 7:40 pm
I read somewhere that Adobe Photoshop has currency recognition features built in to prevent counterfeiting as well.
January 3rd, 2010 @ 12:52 am
“CDS has been voluntarily adopted by hardware and software manufacturers,…”
And we are paying for it in the purchase price I suppose?
January 2nd, 2010 @ 7:52 pm
“CDS has been voluntarily adopted by hardware and software manufacturers,…”
And we are paying for it in the purchase price I suppose?
January 3rd, 2010 @ 1:12 am
This is nuts. The postcard size is only 5.5 x 4.25 inches, and the (partial) image of the $20 bill is way smaller than actual size, plus it’s printed at an angle. This obviously is NOT a counterfeit attempt, but while the machine is “smart” enough to detect the image, it’s too stupid to figure out any of the other details.
And the pisser is, I worked about three hours on that design which I now can’t even print!
Progress, my ass!
January 2nd, 2010 @ 8:12 pm
This is nuts. The postcard size is only 5.5 x 4.25 inches, and the (partial) image of the $20 bill is way smaller than actual size, plus it’s printed at an angle. This obviously is NOT a counterfeit attempt, but while the machine is “smart” enough to detect the image, it’s too stupid to figure out any of the other details.
And the pisser is, I worked about three hours on that design which I now can’t even print!
Progress, my ass!
January 3rd, 2010 @ 1:28 am
can you get an image of an old $20?
January 2nd, 2010 @ 8:28 pm
can you get an image of an old $20?
January 3rd, 2010 @ 1:43 am
“voluntarily adopted by hardware and software manufacturers”
SURE they did!
January 2nd, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
“voluntarily adopted by hardware and software manufacturers”
SURE they did!
January 3rd, 2010 @ 1:56 am
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is right.
But they can’t figure out when a guy has a bomb in his shorts.
January 2nd, 2010 @ 8:56 pm
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is right.
But they can’t figure out when a guy has a bomb in his shorts.
January 3rd, 2010 @ 2:07 am
Maybe it’s just that I use IE but the main page has no space between the left side page edge and the text.
Other that, good job on the site.
January 2nd, 2010 @ 9:07 pm
Maybe it’s just that I use IE but the main page has no space between the left side page edge and the text.
Other that, good job on the site.
January 3rd, 2010 @ 2:22 am
What version of IE? We may have to find a way to test the site across various versions to see if the CSS is casual.
Stacy: Dammit Smitty, I’m a doct–journalist, not tech support!
Smitty: Whose groovy idea was it to leave Blogg–never mind…
January 2nd, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
What version of IE? We may have to find a way to test the site across various versions to see if the CSS is casual.
Stacy: Dammit Smitty, I’m a doct–journalist, not tech support!
Smitty: Whose groovy idea was it to leave Blogg–never mind…
January 3rd, 2010 @ 3:21 am
IE sux.
January 2nd, 2010 @ 10:21 pm
IE sux.
January 3rd, 2010 @ 3:27 am
I knew we had some Jacksonians in the house.
January 2nd, 2010 @ 10:27 pm
I knew we had some Jacksonians in the house.
January 3rd, 2010 @ 8:05 am
Damn. Thought I was grumpy. 😉
January 3rd, 2010 @ 3:05 am
Damn. Thought I was grumpy. 😉
January 4th, 2010 @ 2:38 pm
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a lot of information on the issue here.
Quoted from and Linked to at:
The All-Seeing Print Head
January 4th, 2010 @ 9:38 am
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a lot of information on the issue here.
Quoted from and Linked to at:
The All-Seeing Print Head