Some printers have features that do not work well with printing confidential information. For example, some printers will save the last n pages it has printed so the user can easily reprint something they spilled coffee on. Sure, you can probably disable this feature, but it is one more thing you need to worry about.
My assumption is that a cheap black and white laser printer doesn't store anything after I cut it's power. But if you're really worried about that, make sure the printer never leaves your house. Or encrypt the wallet before printing.
the potential risks involved in using a paper wallet include all risks involved in using a wallet stored in digital format and include additional risks not involved in storing a wallet in digital format.
I can think of a few risks from storing digital data. I trust paper much more than anything digital when it comes to (for example):
- Magnets
- Aging/Reliability
- Accidentally connecting it to the internet
- Hiding
- Moisture (when laminated)
- Static electricity
- Physical damage
when you generate your private keys, you must rely upon the RNG of your OS
I can think of several ways to add random data which doesn't rely on that OS.
If you are creating a paper wallet, you must expose your private key to any "eyes" (including cameras) that can see in the room you are in.
It's generally wise not to do anything confidential when anyone or any device can see you.
if someone is able to access your paper wallet, they can ~instantly make a copy of the paper wallet with a camera (they can also take the actual paper wallet
Fold it, staple it, tape it, laminate it, mount it on the wall, hide it... How is this different than writing down the mnemonic to your hardware wallet?