GURU GHASIDAS VISHVAVIDHYALAY

DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

TOPIC : INK ANALYSIS

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
BLESSI MAM SHRIYA AGRAWAL
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR BSC FORENSIC SCIENCE
 What is ink?

Ink can basically be described as a fluid or paste in different colors usually in black, blue and
red color, used of writing and printing. It is composed of pigments or dyes in different
composition dissolved or dispersed in a liquid called the vehicle.

Writing inks date from about 2500 BC and were used in ancient Egypt and China. They
consisted of lampblack ground with a solution of glue or gums, molded into sticks, and
allowed to dry. Before use, the sticks were mixed with water.
Composition of ink

Ink

Colorant Additives
(pigments (varnish and
provide color) durability)

Vehicle
Carrier substance (even
(Binder hold the
ink distribution and
particles of pigment
prevent clumping)
togeher)
Key ingredient

 Pigment
 Dispersant
 Resin and polymer
 Humectants
 Defoamers and Antifoaming agent
 Wetting agents
 PH modifiers
 Biocides and bacteriostats
 Types of ink

1. LOGWOOD INKS: It is manufactured from extracts ofthe

Haematoxylon campecheartzim tree mixed with crystallized sodium
carbonate and potassium chromate.
The pieces of wood are purchased as small chips and they are steeped in
boiled water to extract the dye.
The ink dries easily into a purplish black who becomes a concentrated
black on the surface and in the paper. It can be washed, but when
exposed to air it decomposes into small flakes.
2. ANILINE BLACK INK: Inks containing aniline dye is used when permanence
factor of ink is not important. It is used in stenciling and ticket writing.
3. FOUNTAIN PEN INK: Fountain pen ink mostly water based but contain several
additives to give certain color, flow and characteristics and are prone to get washed by
water
4. BALLPOINT INK: Ballpoint pen was developed in Europe about 1939 and was
initially distributed in Argentina about 1943. Ballpoint ink consists of synthetic dyes
(sometimes carbon or graphite is also added for permanence) in various glycol
solvents or benzyl alcohol.
Red – eosin dye
Blue – triarylmethane dye

5. INVISIBLE INK: This type of ink is referred to as secret ink. It can be made
from common foodstuffs, for instance the British used rice starch to manufacture
Invisible ink during the Indian mutiny in 1857.
6. IRON TANNATE INK :A mixture of tannic acid and gallic acid extracted from wood when mixed with ferrous
salts, gives a colourless liquid which on drying and ageing gives black colour.The ink as such is not suitable.
• It is mixed with dyestuff to give proper shade.
• Some acid & phenol is added to give stability.It changes colour in course of time from blue-black to black (due to
change of iron from ferrous to ferric state).
■It was used for 100 of years for writing important documents throughout the world.
7. ELECTION INK: Also known as indelible ink, electoral stain or phosphoric
ink.It is semi-permanent ink or dye.It contains a pigment for instant recognition, a
silver nitrate which stains the skin on exposure to ultraviolet light, leaving a mark i.e
impossible to wash off.Standard electoral inks contain 10%, 14%, or 18% silver
nitrate solution, depending on the length of time the mark is required to be visible.
10. HECTOGRAPH INK: This type of ink is similar to the stamp pad but the dyes
used in them are of alkaline nature only.
• These inks are called copying ink.
SPECIAL INKS
 Printer's ink: It contains carbon, adhesive and drying oil.

 Cancellation ink: It is used in post offices. It is similar to printer's ink

 Stamp-pad ink: It contains dyestuffs, glucose and glycerol or glycol
 Typewriter's ink: This type of ink is made from mixture of aniline dyes, carbon black,
and olein or castor oil.
 Examination of ink

Physical method ( non destructive)

Visual examination
~ Type of ink
~ colour of ink
~ Use of stereomicroscope to determine sequence of intersecting lines
~ Various light sources like uv radiation, IR radiation, soft x rays are used

IR radiation helps in-

1.Analysis of ink
2.Obiterated writing Analysis
3.Examine the Erased ink
4.Charred document examination
 Obiterated
writing ( use of
two ink)

Adittion of letters
and number with
different ink Examination of
Erased ink

Deciphering the ink in Charred document

2. Instrumental method (destructive)

Destructive method:
Techniques incorporating chemical analysis of the ink present on the document fall under
destructive category since for sample analysis the portion of the document containing ink is
cut and thus the sample is destructed.
 Chromatography
 Capillary electrophoresis
 Infrared spectroscopy
 GCMS
 Chromatography :
Various chromatographic techniques such as TLC, GLC, and HPLC are utilized for the
qualitative ink analysis in order to separate the components of ink thereby determining the
composition. Most commonly used technique is the TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography)
which incorporates the use of chromatographic plate and the alcohol based solvent for the
purpose of ink separation.
 Infrared spectroscopy:
It is used for the characterization of ink. The dyes, additives and solvent present in the ink
show different absorption peak in the spectrum which are unique for every substance and
compared with the standard peaks for identification purpose.

 Capillary electrophoresis:
It is similar to HPLC but uses a small amount of samples. Hence, adopted in cases where the
sample is limited. Herein, the capillary is filled with a conductive fluid with a designated pH
value. The conductive fluid then serves as the buffer solution in which the sample is
separated.
 GCMS ( Gas Chromatography Mass spectrometry) :
 GC along with MS i.e. Mass spectrometer is one of the best techniques used for ink
analysis wherein firstly the components are separated by gas chromatography followed by
the identification on the basis of mass/charge ratio.
In the examination of questioned documents, the non-destructive techniques are preferred
until and unless it is very necessary to adopt the destructive ones in order to reach to a
definite conclusion.
 Ink Dating

The age of ink helps determine a document’s age. There have been certain methods developed for
dating ink but none of them proved to estimate the exact age of ink. Methods are as follow: V
1. Visual Examination
 The color of the ink can indicate the age of the ink. However, only blue-black ink shows this
change over the course of time yet the fadeness of inks can be considered for other inks. The
changes in the appearance of the ink depends on the temperature, humidity, air, exposure to
sunlight, the paper used, the site where the document was kept, etc.
2. Smudging
 When the ink is mixed with water, the time taken by the ink to dissolve in water can indicate the
age of the ink. fresh inks are smudged immediately in water whereas aged inks take more time to
dissolve because, with the course of time, the inks fade and become insoluble.
3. Diffusion of ink
 Usually, inks contain chloride or sulfate ions, which are present in the acids used in the
ink production process. These ions, with the passage of time, are diffused in the paper.
The diffusion can be tested by treating the paper containing ink, with lead acetate or
silver nitrate, which will precipitate the lead sulfate or silver chloride respectively.
 This can be easily observed on the paper. The intensity of the precipitation will reveal
the extent of ink diffusion in the paper. This will ultimately indicate the age of the ink.
4. Chemical Tags Analysis
  In the early 1970s, rare earth elements and special chemicals were added to the ink for
detection and dating purposes. TLC along with UV excitation is an effective method to
identify such special chemical tags in the ink.
THANK YOU😁