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The Seattle Times reported yesterday that most digital photocopiers save images to their hard drives.

These copies are more commonly seen in large offices, but as their pricing drops, small offices and shops have been installing these digital models.Now that I think about it, it actually makes sense that the new generation of copiers use hard drives to make the copying process faster.

After all, these copiers work like a computer. The copier takes a massive digital picture of a document, and then uses a laser printer to output a paper copy that’s much clearer than older copying systems.

The hard drive reduces the cost of the digital copier. It would be expensive to store the digital picture in RAM. Hard drives tend to be more durable than RAM, also.

This copying method is also used in the small “all-in-one” units that I’ve seen in many homes. The scanner/printer uses the computer’s hard drive to store the image. For many home users, this method is very convenient, and less expensive than going to Kinko’s or using their office’s copier.

This technique is also handy in high-volume commercial copiers - the kinds large businesses use to produce dozens or hundreds of copies.

While Sharp has rolled out a kit that will wipe or encrypt its’ copier hard drives, most manufacturers haven’t done the same with their models. So a clever identity thief could open a copier, grab the hard drive, and have access to hundreds or thousands of old copies.

If any of these copies show a birth certificate, passport number, or account number, the identity thief can use that information.

Better yet, a police investigator could take an unencrypted hard drive and search it for evidence in a case.

As I’ve said before, the only method I know for removing data from a hard drive is to remove the drive, grab a big hammer and beat the drive into a mangled mess of metal.