Security facsimile paper

A printing medium (10) for receiving and displaying images produced by a thermal printer of a standard facsimile machine comprising:

• a sheet of plain-surfaced printing paper (12) receivable by the facsimile machine for passage therethrough past the thermal printer thereof;
• a sheet of cover medium (14) disposed over said printing paper (12) so as to pass through the facsimile machine in combination with said printing paper, said cover medium (14) including a bottom surface facing toward said printing paper and a top surface facing away from said printing paper;
• an ink coating means (16) disposed on said bottom surface of said cover medium (14) for being transferred from said cover medium to a predetermined location on said printing paper (12) in response to heat applied by the facsimile machine as the printing medium (10) passes through the facsimile machine;
• characterized by said cover medium (14) including scattering means (18) for reflecting and scattering light travelling to and away from said cover medium (14) to create a diffuse non-specular reflection and thereby prevent the reading of images produced in said cover medium and said printing paper (12) by the facsimile machine until said cover medium is separated from said printing paper.