Preventing Tampering - Xerox 6100BD - Phaser Color Laser Printer Fundamentals

Security

Preventing tampering

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• Excessive paper moisture causes poor heat transfer due to
the energy dissipated driving off the water.
• Preprinted backgrounds with high ink coverage prevent
contact of dry ink to paper, which is a prerequisite of a bond
between them.
Either problem can make a dry ink image easier to remove.
Document tampering can not be eliminated completely; however,
you can strongly discourage it by making it more difficult.
The quickest and most cost-effective methods of preventing
check falsification include the following:
• Use a printing process that provides firm bonding between
ink and paper. Avoid factors that interfere with the bonding
process.
• Use a secure check stock that works with the printing
process, compensating for its vulnerabilities without
interfering with its capabilities.
• Use redundant data for critical fields—a statement of the
check amount, for example, provided in both numeric and text
versions.
A traditional check protection method uses multiple fields to
indicate the payable amount. This amount can be written as a
numeric field and a text string. The text amount field provides
good protection, but it requires advance planning for forms
design and for host application programs.
The small, compressed fonts of the Xerox MICR laser printer
allow multiple lines and can fill the requirement for the multiple
language statement. For example, Canada requires English and
French.
If you use a multiple approach, remember that the text string is
considered the legal amount field. The numeric field takes
second place in legal precedence.
The ability of the Xerox MICR laser printer to use special fonts, or
fonts on a special background field, makes check modification
very difficult. However, these fonts and background also make
check processing more difficult. For this reason, industry
standards now require light backgrounds and clearly readable
numbers for automated processing. Use of a legal amount
provides protection against amount alteration.
Generic MICR Fundamentals Guide