Most of us use office printers for printing confidential documents and personal files without knowing the security risks. It is possible to track the printer usage. Even failed to print documents can be seen !

There are a number of ways.

1.There are few employee monitoring software which can provide the list of documents you printed.

http://www.surveilstar.com/printing-logs.html

2.By default, all printing events are written to the system log file.
 
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc758186%28v=ws.10%29.aspx

3.It is also possible to recover data from the printer.

It depends on which printer you are using.

Most multi-function printers or what is called MFPs have hard drives that record and store data. Most printers overwrite the data. But still, printing a confidential document poses a serious risk when you resell the printer.

How does it work ?

The digital information is transmitted to the printing device through a computer over a network. This data is stored on the hard disk so the device can print quickly and multi task.

How to know if your printer has a hard drive ?

1. Identify the printer company and model.
2. Go to their website and check whether hard disk in that model is standard or optional.
3. If its optional, there are some methods to check the presence of hard disk.

Think before printing your personal files using office printers.

– Pradeep