When documents are printed they are often done so without any branding or layer of protection. In a shared-printer environment, this is even more of a regular happeningwhere they are left in printer trays for others to see or whatever. Information workers, temporary staff, guests and others may be walking by the printer where the document(s) are in full view.
The absence of a simple and straightforward method of document identification results in insecure and vulnerable information. In the event a document is misappropriated or misused, the consequences can be minor or catastrophic.
Unattended and unlabeled documents are an all to common event in daily business. We print documents for a multitude of reasons — frequently without any form of indicia to reflect our intent of to prevent misuse. Employing a rubber stamp in the margins of a document is a waste of time in ineffective.
The most effective method of dealing with paper and PDF document management is to identify and label the document at the time it is printed. In the case of a PDF, the document marking should be done at the time it is created from Word. This requires both a method that is easily implemented and a policy requiring the action. If the PDF is not labeled or identified when it is created from Word, it requires a manual use manipulation and a PDF editing program to mark or stamp the document. Moreover, if the user wants to mark only selected pages of the PDF, each must be done individually which can be a tedious process.
If a paper document management program is to be successful, it must be able to mark a document in a manner that makes the document incapable of alteration. The program should, likewise, be flexible to accommodate the marking of any combination of pages based on simple user input. Finally, it must be able to create most any type of marking the worker requires.
While a stamp in the margin is better than no stamp at all, it doesn’t make much of an improvement over the antiquated rubber stamp. In order to be effective, the method must be automated. And the method must be capable of combining the text and the indicia in such a manner that it cannot be removed. User-friendliness is of paramount importance. If the use of the product requires data entry or command-line use, it is not likely to be used in an effective manner.
Shaded gray images (watermarks) are useful in small settings and where mishandling or misappropriation are low-risk. However, the security provided by this marking minimal given today’s copier technology. Using shaded color offer additional protection but still doesn’t prevent alteration or duplication and deletion of the marking.
Document marking that is embedded in the body/text of a document is the most reliable. This form of marking is where the marking is the same color as the body text which prevents the removal-by-copier scenario. Under this condition there is no marking that can be covered or “dropped” out of the document. This method provides the most paper document security in a document management program.
StampIt for Word is the standard for automated document marking and is the solution for eliminating the use of rubber stamps for paper and print document management. StampIt combines the power of word-processing with the clout of your printer. It’s like having instant, total access to custom rubber stamps that are fully automated.
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