Q: Do I need to do anything to my laser/copier/fax printer before I get rid of it?
A: Most of us are very aware of the dangers of disposing of our computers, smartphones and tablets without first wiping them clean of our personal information, pictures and files, but not so much with our printers.
Depending upon the type of printer you have, you may very well have to take steps to ensure that your private information isn’t still being stored in the device’s internal memory.
What’s at risk?
It may not be that obvious, but your printer/fax/scanner can potentially be storing some of the most sensitive information that you have ever printed, scanned, faxed or copied. Everything from tax returns to medical forms to insurance documents have probably passed through your printer over its life.
More sophisticated network printers that can email documents directly can also be storing sensitive email server configuration and passwords that you’ll want to wipe out.
Consumer printers
Most consumer-grade printers have very little storage memory. It’s generally considered “volatile memory,” which means that when the power is turned off, whatever it was storing is gone.
If your printer has no fax or copier functions, it probably won’t have any type of persistent memory storage that needs to be reset. But just to be sure, check your printer’s settings menu for any options that allow you to reset the device to the factory defaults.
If you ever get a message during the reset process warning you that all your data will be lost, you’ll know that it was storing personal information.
If your device has memory card slots for things like camera cards, don’t forget to check to see if you’ve left any old cards in there.
Networked multifunction printers
While most consumers aren’t likely to have printers with internal storage, virtually every business-grade copier/printer/fax device is highly likely to be storing a large amount of sensitive information on a persistent storage device.
If your company printer has the ability to receive faxes and route them via email to the proper recipient, it first has to store the incoming faxes in some form of internal memory.
If your device can store addresses for sending scanned documents, you should assume that it can store more than just addresses.
Private printing — which refers to a printer’s ability to hold a print job until you are physically in front of the printer and you type in a code — certainly points to an internal storage device.
The ability to reorder print jobs that are in the queue is another indication of internal memory capabilities.
Protection suggestions
Most of today’s printers that include large internal storage devices also include secure wipe options in their settings.
If you can’t find the reset instructions for your printer, a simple internet search that includes your exact make and model with the word “reset” after it should yield the directions.
If you can’t find any into from a general search, try checking at resetprinters.com — and if you can’t find anything there, you probably have nothing to worry about.
