Is There a Technique to Prevent Copying?

You are right. What they say is right. Thank you for the lead.

But I have not heard of it / not come across it- though the company is 20 year old.

I was trying to understand how it works!!!

That sounds like you might be trying to figure out a way to defeat the security features. I don't know any techniques that are not explained in the public domain, so I'll fill you in on a few known techniques that I know.

You might start by looking at your own paper currency or bank checks. Depending on where you reside you will find in your currency any of these anti-counterfeit techniques: micro-printing, water marks, color fibers in the paper, holographic inks, embedded identity threads located in the paper or extremely ornate images.

The one technique that amuses me combines the precision of micro-printing and the ornate images. The ink is carefully placed so that if a precise grid scans the image a Moire pattern is created that says something (VOID, COPY) that clearly identifies that a copy or scan has been performed.

True water marks are formed in the paper itself during the paper manufacturing process. These marks become obvious only when the paper gets held to the light. Many good quality rag papers have water marks that identify the paper manufacturer. A digital form of watermarking has now incorporated in many document fabrication programs. When the document gets initially printed, the digital watermarks get printed with a very small amount of ink along with the regular amount for the document text. This mark is difficult to see with the naked eye but the bright light of the scanner/copier clearly adds this to the copies.

Thank you. Yes I understand the sensitivity of the subject. I am not trying to defeat it, but have a solution, but wish to know whether there is anything already like that. My objectives are slightly different and simply put-

• The document should be a plain paper type.
• It should be readable to normal eye without special aid.
• It should not be copy able.

The easiest approach for you then is to just use the watermark feature used in several document producing software packages, like MS Office. These are far from perfect but a reasonable way to start. You might consider the real watermark approach. You can have a custom watermark produced for the sheets of paper that you authorize. The information can still be copied but it will be easy to identify that it is not an authorized sheet.

Remember, unless you use better quality equipment than a copier or scanner, you cannot produce a document that cannot be copied.

Kindly read my objectives. If there is a defence / corporate confidential document- the objective is not to permit copying & NOT trying detect whether the copied document is original or not!!!

Focus is on easy readability to normal eye and yet not at all copiable.

Should you be able to discover "... easy readability to normal eye and yet not at all copiable.", what about being photographed by digital or film camera?

So are you telling us you believe you have developed such technology?

Remember the TV series Mission Impossible? "This message will self destruct in five seconds"

Perhaps treat the document with a toxin so deadly that anyone that trys to read it will die instantly?

Of course. All that you've got to do is write the funniest joke in the world on the document and it will be secure.

I recall a TV show that featured a "death by fax" scene, the faxed image was optically toxic and killed people who looked at it, a mere glance would injure you badly..

printing with red on red makes for very hard to copy text. the deep red tends to reproduce as solid black with many copiers. the down side is it's rather hard to read... not impossible in good light but not a breeze in any light.

Someone else mentioned printing with "non-repro blue" I believe.

Focus is on easy readability to normal eye and yet not at all copiable.

An impossible task. Since I do not have a scanner, fax, or photocopier, I simply use the camera in my cell phone to take a fairly close-up picture of what I want and e-mail the image to my computer, open it in irfanview to crop and size it, and save it as a jpg. copy the jpg into a MS word document and size it to the page for printing. I have not picked up any artifacts that usually present problems when photocopying. But the text in the copied document cannot be edited with any of the software I have.

Don't publish it, it's only sure fire way.

Anything can be copied and any copy protection can be circumvented, be it complex - like disassembling a microchip and inspecting with a microscope to replicate the circuits (yes there are companies that do this), or simple - like just plain rewriting a document from a master copy (any good secretary will do, it is in their job description). Even currency can be copied (and they take take their protection very seriously). You can however make it quite difficult (time consuming and/or expensive) however, but this is assuming you have something people would want (no demand, no copy problem).

Is this an idea or product you are working on, a general interest enquiry, or like me have you been burned by a student copying your homework and passing it off as theirs (without even fixing the obvious spelling mistakes, no BE degree for YOU Mr cheat!).

Getting back on track, if you think you have a potential un-copyable copy protection idea, and you think you could make it work, do you think there is a market for it? Existing copy protection systems exist (mostly watermark, special paper, patent or the good old legal disclaimer), as do secure document destruction.

Your proposed idea is interesting though. Could you describe what your idea is in a little more detail, I look forward to an interesting discussion on quite an important subject.

Ok (ran out of time writing my previous response), what you are proposing is the following

A document protection system that protects standard paper documents by preventing them from being electronically scanned and duplicated (eg- photocopier, computer scanner, potentially camera) and is invisible (or nearly) to the human eye.

There are a number of ways (both existing, patented, and ideas and concepts that never made it in to the real world due to some reason or other) this could be implemented, but each has it's disadvantages and ways around it.

Protection methods that spring to mind would be invisible or hidden watermarks printed at the same time as the document (hidden bar code or unique characters), but this method relies on any scanning system having the software built in to recognise it. Potentially possible if this is a government agency with a controlled hardware process, a no camera policy and protection against manual copying. This however won't work in the real world where the protection method could be defeated with a simple camera phone to capture the document and character recognition software to convert the image text back to actual text.

Another would be the use of special printer ink that is easy to visually see but difficult to copy or even photograph. Note that I used the word 'difficult' not impossible. Again, potentially possible in a controlled environment, but a little fiddling with the settings of a photocopier or camera will be able to capture the text clearly enough to defeat this form of copy protection method.

Another would be some form of paper treatment process, but I don't see how this could be effectively implemented and work based on your stated requirements.

Again, can you provide us some more information to work on. I am especially interested in your target market as this will have a BIG impact on what protection may and won't work in the real world.

_{Jack - Protection is right up my alley.}

No, but once upon a time I came up with a chart that was black ink on dark brown paper. It was not easy to read. nor was it easy to copy.

Milo

put invisible ink in your bubble jet printer cartridge...

chris

I can't believe I got an OT...

I do have an even better method...

just make the page radioactive... that way, the radioactivity will both mess with the photocopy, camera, etc.. and also create health problems the person who dares to copy the page and their future offspring...

I think that about covers it...

chris

I have had some success by laminating a comventional document with lenticular film. The document can only be read at a narrow range of angles. This style of lenticular film can defeat most regular scanning photocopiers, but of course a digital camera can still shoot the complete image from a single "good" angle.

http://www.microsharp.co.uk/technologies/lenticular-film/

Mark Bingham
Relativity PL

At last it looks like a meaningful solution. The document cannot be copied by normal (xerox) copying machines. But as you say- may be it could be photographed using a camera.

GA for that, I was not aware such a film existed.

How expensive is it though?

If you mean to prevent copying in school or college exams then consider conducting open book exam.

If the human eye can see and read it, how would a suitable camera be unable to see (and thus copy) it?

Vampires!

As has been said, there is always a way to copy. Most copiers do have a particular blue which they will not copy for editorial assistance. If you use that blue for your font color, you can make the printed paper not be copiable on the office copier.

Similar to that, we write 'ORIGINAL' on our drawings in yellow highlighter. This does not show if photocopied. Fails to answer the point mentioned in other posts about photographing or scanning the document.

Is the object to prevent copying by any means or spoiling any copies made? Perhaps an ink that fluoresces when exposed to a photocopier or scanner light?

There is a technique, that while it will not prevent copying, it WILL allow you to track a copy (if found) back to the source. The technique is to induce slight variations into each original copy (moved commas, slightly different wording/formatting, misspelled words, slightly differing fonts, different kerning, etc.) such that each original is unique and keep track of who is given which version of the document. Then if one of the versions shows up somewhere it should not, then you know who to go tap on the shoulder about it.

No, there is definitively no way. Much has been made of using the quirks of the digital copying process to reveal hidden images or text identifying a document as a copy. However
1. This still does not generate an unreadable copy
2. People tend to forget the not yet extinct technique of film (slide or negative) photography. The resolution of a film copy camera is better than any digital dot generator, and the darkroom experts can work magic tricks which are the equal of any graphics program. If you see it a film copy camera can copy it for you.

If I had something soldable to protect I would have 'serialized' all sold copies based on small undetectible details like char spacing in pre-defined places. small marks etc based on an 'unbreakable' multi-level algorithm. Now all needed is safely linking every buyer with a serial. Whenever one copy gets 'arround' it would be easy to trace back to the individual that copied and gave away. Buyers also MUST know about the protection capabilities, so act more responsibly. Also advantage is that small scale sharing like giving to a friend would be OK, just like a book. Having this protection and loosing less payments would allow much lower original prices also. S.M.

I have seen some paper (A4) which is coloured (coated?) black on one side,
(with the information on the other side naturally) which fails to copy!

Not a lot of help, as I do not know the type or name of it. But, if you ask
paper suppliers, google the web, speak to people who need such papers,
like solicitors, etc. some one should be able to assist you.

jt.

I assumed this is what you need, and not the watermarked, anti-counterfeit
papers, which is a different thing altogether.

My understanding is that he wants to use just plain paper. He doesn't want any form of specialty paper, like the fluorescent writing paper I suggested earlier. It seems like he wants to be able to cast a magic spell on the paper that is linked to only those who are authorized to read the sacred scrolls.

Thank you all for that wonderful discussion. I now understand where technology & its limitations stand.

My original objectives need to be improved upon.

• It should be a paper based document (not electronic)
• It should be possible to be copied by any of the existing technology copiers.
• Can we further prevent it from photographing as well?

I will leave it as objectives for scientists to come up with a solution- if it already doesn't exist.

Regarding the second bullet point, I thought that it should not be possible to copy by existing technology. But then this whole thread has become confused between traceable copies versus no copies at all.

There's clearly a not not there.

Again, it is not much help, and I have heard conflicting reports
(some positive and negative) and you may have heard of it yourself
recently in the news.

There is a reflective spray to make car number plates unreadable by
cameras. (speed traps) If ordinary paper had the "black" backing (see
my other submission) and the front information side was lightly coated
with this "number plate" material so it could not be photographed

Bingo! a wizard did it?

Just an idea. Hope it helps with your research.

jt.

I've split up with my tennis playing girlfriend, to her love meant nothing.

I can remember seeing the number plate spray being sold at a car show, I took a digital picture of the treated plates which came out perfectly. They couldn't explain why the coating didn't work.

In the early 80's we ( defense contracting firm I worked for ) had a paper with a slight yellow tinge to it that could not be photo-copied OR photographed. I do NOT know the name of the stuff, nor am I familiar with how it worked. I am FAIRLY sure though , if you EMAIL the DOD and ASK THEM , they will be happy to provide you with the TYPE of paper THEY PREFER TO USE for those kinds of things. There is probably even a GUIDELINE you can download that contains a list of " approved " suppliers of such paper.

Good luck

Thank you. So a solution does exist, but the knowledge may not be in public domain.

it seems as if it is a commonplace item. Docugard = one company's trade name.

Searches might find many competing products.

Ebay security+paper search

SecurityPaperByReam.htm

security-paper/products

Here is the DOD public documents list , XXXX://XXX.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pub1.html

Just substitute the usual intertube address stuff in the front. :D ( I hate live links ) , and you're on your own for both the searching , and any " lists" you might end up on if you go to a gov. site.

Good luck.

Wait one darn minute. You said that you wanted plain paper. This is not plain paper. Will you make up your mind, please.

On another note, I really pissed off the security officer in that company when , after asking for a copy of the schematic, and being told the paper was SO secure it could NOT be copied , I went and got a piece of drafting velum and just placed it over the schematic and TRACED it out in pencil. :D I did not think it was possible for ONE forehead to have SO MANY bulging veins !

See ingenuity (response 52) shown!!! When machines can't copy or cameras can't capture!!! No solution for this. All we can write in our target spec is - one should not be able to reproduce replica using equipments with existing technologies. Man is supreme and ingenious!!!!

Sorry to revive a dead thread but there are a couple questions I'd like to ask on the topic.

@redfred you mention

• A digital form of watermarking has now incorporated in many document fabrication programs. When the document gets initially printed, the digital watermarks get printed with a very small amount of ink along with the regular amount for the document text. This mark is difficult to see with the naked eye but the bright light of the scanner/copier clearly adds this to the copies.

My experiments with this watermarking feature in programs like Word or InDesign indicate that it's not really possible to make a nearly illegible/invisible watermark that will be legible at the photocopy stage. Has anyone had different results?

• Now you can obtain paper that will fluoresce erroneous information when scanned by the UV light that most copier lights produce.

Can you or anyone point me in the direction of this paper? My searches have proven futile.

Does anyone know how to make a Moire pattern [Void Pantagraph] in a popular program like InDesign or Photoshop that can be used to discourage copying?

One final question: An ideal copyprofing method would be to include the EURion symbol in any document design. The EURion is a constellation of bagel shapes that is incorporated into most global currencies. When copied, detection routines in all copiers shut down the machine. My efforts to isolate and replicate the EURion have not been successful to date. I'm not interested in running off a batch of $100 bills but being able to protect documents with such a magic talisman would be extremely useful. Any insights would be appreciated. Yes, I know this would probably be frowned upon by Big Brother.

A quick search found Eurionize which says it will add the EURion symbol to documents. It also says that having the mark is not a foolproof method & that there is some debate about whether this is really what prevents the copying of banknotes.

Thanks Nigh:

How did I miss that? It looks complicated but I'll have a go. I should be able to glean some insights from this.

Original objective was to totally prevent making copies or extracting information. In the case of documents related to Defence - even if some one can read it and hand copy it- the purpose is lost. If there are other applications - where people use water marked paper or with some hologram etc- well the copier can also use similar water marked paper or stick hologram etc. Thus- my final conclusion is = I GIVE UP.

The only method that approaches what you want is encryption. The legible message that can be copied will be virtually useless to someone not able to translate this code.

May be acceptable for text messgaes. What about drawings, sketches, photographs etc

ever heard of Steganography?

@Redfred, that's an interesting idea. It's also well used in the anime series GITS, the characters with "cyberbrain implants" are able to "read" by scanning 2-d barcodes that appear in many forms of printed media, from newspapers to classified reports.

But, but, but... in such a scenario, if the reader can see the copy and the key then they can extract information, even if it's only by taking notes.

Better copy protection will likely yield documents that are hesitant to yield information to intended readers; i.e. harder to read.

It's like the law of natural selection; those organisms that are even slightly better adapted to their environment, stand a slightly better chance of reproducing and passing those adaptations on to their progeny.

Think about how well this has served hoomanity[sic]...

Better mousetraps mean only the wariest smartest mice survive.
Better antibiotics mean only the hardiest germs survive.
Better automobile anti-theft devices means thieves resort to car-jacking.
Better health tracking means more resources are consumed on paperwork.

British subjects are superior at waiting in lines (queues, sorry). {HGTGT reference}

American aid policies create a dependent class that can no longer feed, house, protect or defend, itself in the wake of disaster or even mild hardship.

Q.E.D.

In school I learned about "The Fall of the Roman Empire"; I never thought I'd live to see it reenacted here in the United States...

My point here is that the only way you can make a legible document unreadable is if what is written is a message that is only understandable to your target reader. Your falling for the common trap of considering encryption as just the field of ciphers, there are also codes, other languages and buried messages.

(As for the cryptic history lesson, you just proved my point. I understood your words but I don't understand your message.)

I've got it! Publish ideas on blank sheets of paper and use telepathy to convey ideas. Well, there are still a few bugs in the technology but we're almost there.

When people talk about document security there's this underlying assumption that the solution is some kind of all-or-nothing technology like those deployed by central banks on most global currencies. For many applications simply degrading the copied output significantly should be enough to deter many if not most end users. It's like the old adage: "Locks only keep out honest people." If you need to keep all people out then either don't publish at all or subscribe to my encrypted telepathy technology as outlined above.

So with the idea in mind of sufficiently degrading output as a deterrent I've looked at:

Void Pantographs:

• Big-Little Dot - Obsolete
• Line resolution moire technology - fast becoming obsolete

Thermochromic Ink:

• Modern copiers are too cool to reveal a hidden message like "FRAG OFF BLOKE"
• Could be used to hide certain elements of content, requiring touching or rubbing to reveal the content. An ideal use would be to hide an answer key in a textbook. When copied, unless the prof keeps a hair dryer at hand in the copy room, the answers would simply blend into a solid block of colour.

UV Inks:
Under certain conditions UV sensitive inks have been shown to flare brightly when copied, something that the copier interprets as white-on-white. Though not a disappearing ink, the printed image can be seriously degraded this way.

EURion Constellation:
Already discussed; Shuts down the machine and calls in the SWAT team.

Any other ideas on how to degrade copied output? [Red on black works with B & W copiers, for instance.]