INSTRUMENTS USED

IN DOCUMENT
EXAMINATION
Questioned Document Examination
 Questioned document examination can be a extremely useful factor in solving
a crime. Questioned documents may be handwritten or machine-written. They
can be letters, signatures, tickets, forms, passports, paintings, wills, etc...
 The document may seem normal at a glance but there are small details
that show if a document has been forged or tampered with, making it valuable
evidence. It is up to the document examiners to find discover these minute
details.
 They must uncover as much information possible from the document without
damaging or altering it, if possible. Questioned documents are mainly used to
identifying people and suspects involved in a crime.
DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

PHYSICAL
• Non-Destructive methods
• Use of Instruments and different light sources for the examination of
the documents for different purposes.

CHEMICAL
• Destructive methods
• Involves ink examination, paper examination etc.
•
 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
Measuring Tools Optical instruments

 Scale
 Handlens/Loupe (Magnifying
Glass)
 Typewriter measure plates  Photographic equipment
 Protector  Stereomicroscope
 Micrometer
 Comparison microscope
 Projectina

 VSC
 ESDA
 TOOLS USED FOR DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
A typical Questioned Documents Unit in a crime
laboratory is equipped with microscopes, digital
imaging instrumentation, infrared and ultraviolet light
sources, video analysis tools and specialized equipment
including electrostatic detection devices (EDD) and
materials to perform analytical chemistry.
 CHEMICAL EXAMINATION

Chromatography techniques

Instrumentation namely Raman spectroscopy, fourier-

transform infrared spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopes

Identification of erasures using chemical test

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION TOOLS
Measuring Tools
 Basic measuring tools include metric rulers, calipers for fine
measurements and various glass alignment plates which allow comparison
and measurement of angles, height, width and spacing of handwriting and
typewriting.
 A tool for both measurement and magnification is a "reticle" which is a
magnifier eyepiece containing an engraved measurement scale which
allows the examiner to precisely measure.
MAGNIFICATION - Magnifiers/Microscopes
 Document examiners use a wide range of magnification equipment. handheld
magnifiers (enlarge the material from 2 to 10 times (magnification powers of 2x to
10x) and may have lighting abilities as well to brighten the field of view.
 Most handwriting examination is done at powers of 10x to 50x (the subject is
enlarged 10 to 50 times).
 A binocular, or stereo, microscope is comfortable to use because, as the name implies,
there are 2 eyepieces and the viewer focuses with both eyes.
LIGHT SOURCES
 Lightsources include transmitted light, long and
short wave ultraviolet light, and infra-red light.
Transmitted light is simply light from behind a
document.
 Comparison Microscope
 Two documents can be viewed side-by-side and the
images can be positioned so that they appear to
overlay each other.
 By using a different color of filter on each
document, the examiner can then see a third color
in those areas where the two segments being
compared overlap each other.
Stereomicroscope
 This microscope has the advantage of presenting a
distinctive three-dimensional image of an object.
 The stereo or stereoscopic microscope is an optical
microscope designed for low magnification observation
of a sample, typically using light reflected from the
surface of an object rather than transmitted through it.
APPLICATION
 Most important application of stereoscopic microscopy is in the fields
of questioned document examination.
 It is especially adapted for the examination of inks, colors, erasures,
interlineations, and overwriting.
 For the comparison of disturbed and undisturbed paper surfaces,
pen, and pencil points, the tint, texture and condition of paper
surfaces, the texture and quality of typewriter ribbons, written and
printed characters, and type faces.
Video Spectral Comparator (VSC)

 VSC is an integrated composite system comprising of

cameras, various light sources which includes IR, Laser, UV
etc. and filters which assist in comparison of questioned
documents.
 Detecting alterations, obliterations, erasures and page
substitutions.
 Alterations, obliterations and erasures not visible to the
human eye can often be detected through use of photography
and other imaging devices that utilize ultraviolet and
infrared wavelengths of light.
 Using radiation filtered at various wavelengths, an imaging instrument
such as a video spectral comparator (vsc) can reveal writing that has
been added with a different ink, or has been altered or removed by
exploiting variations in the way different inks respond to different
wavelengths of light.
 Video Spectral Comparator- used to analyze inks and see whether they
are the same or different. Document examiners look at them under
different lighting conditions where some wavelengths of light are
blocked. This can uncover layers in documents where words have been
scribbled out or written over.
LIGHT SOURCES AND THEIR USES

 The VSC has four different light sources. These are used to help bring out
specific types of features in the document examined.
 The first light source is incandescent filament lamps. These have a range
from 400 nm-1000 nm and encompass visible and IR light.
 These lights are used in the VSC when one uses the functions of flood,
transmitted, spot and side lighting.
 The led lamps which have a wavelength from 400-700 nm are used with
coaxial lighting and diffracted lighting. The UV lamps are vapor
discharge tubes.
 The VSC offers three ranges of UV light. This is with 365 nm
(UV-A), 312 nm (UV-B) and 254 (UV-C) peak wavelengths.
All of these can illuminate the document from above. With
transmitted lighting the VSC only offers UV light with 365
nm.
 The last of the light sources is a flash tube. This lamp has a
range of 850-1100 nm and is used for the anti-stokes flash
function.
SOURCES OF LIGHT
 Diffracted lighting is a function which illuminates the document from
different directions, and is usually used to see optically variable
devices (OVD).
 Coaxial light is another function the VSC offers. Coaxial light is a
light that is shown perpendicularly on the document. Coaxial light
reveals retro-reflective features in security documents, which are
often used to prevent forgeries. Such retro-reflective features are
invisible under normal light but revealed when the incident light is
precisely coaxial to the angle of view.
APPLICATION

 Examination can be done under different light sources

 Examination of altered documents, erasures, obliteration, can be done.

 Examination of signature and handwriting can be done

 Passport, stamp, seal examination, counterfeit currency notes

examination, charred documents examination.

SPECTRUM SCREEN

 The VSC offers microspectometry. The spectrum screen shows a

chromaticity chart and a spectral graph after a spectrum has been

recorded.

 In the spectral graphs one can read the plots of light intensity versus the

wavelength from 400-1000 nm..

Electrostatic Detection Device
 ESDA is an electrostatic detection device that is a specialized
apparatus regularly used for questioned document analysis to
decipher indentations or impressions in paper. It is a non-
destructive technique.
 It is a sensitive technique capable of detecting indentations or
impressions or sub-surface writings created on pages which are
several layers beneath the top-most sheet.
 It is also sensitive to the writings that were created many years back because of
which indentations were made.
 It is a device used to visualize indented writing, which is a type of evidence
which may be encountered during questioned document analysis in the cases of
ransom note and extortion letters.
 Forensic investigators have access to tools and machines that enable them to
read a letter where the ink has been washed away, see what lies beneath
scribbles and read a letter from indentations left on another sheet of paper.

Electrostatic Detection Device (EDD)

 Revealing text from indented impressions

 An Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) uses
the principle that indented areas of a document
carry less negative charge than surrounding areas.
This causes the toner used in the EDD to be
attracted to these areas, revealing indentations that
are present.
 Using this technique, indented impressions have been recovered from up
to seven layers of paper beneath the original writings. Research has
demonstrated that impressions can be successfully visualized from
documents up to 60 years old, provided the papers are not mishandled or
stored improperly.
A notebook
found with
suspect’s
personal effects.

The same notebook when analyzed with an Electrostatic Detection Device

(EDD) reveals invisible impressions of the robbery demand note.
A notebook found
with suspect’s
personal effects

The same notebook when analyzed with

an Electrostatic
Detection Device (EDD) reveals invisible
impressions of
The robbery demand note.
CHEMICAL EXAMINATION TOOLS
 Infrared Spectroscopes
Infrared spectroscopes may be used to determine if more than
one type of ink was used, based on wavelengths of light
absorbed and reflected by each type of ink.
 CHROMATOGRAPHY
 Determining individual dye components
 Chromatography is a family of techniques used for
separating mixtures. It involves a small cutting from the
questioned document being dissolved in a solvent then
analyzed. This is one of the few destructive techniques
employed by the document examiner.
 The inks can be compared to the International Ink
Library, a database maintained by the U.S. Secret Service
that contains data on more than 9,500 inks that have been
manufactured since 1920.
Thin Layered Chromatography
• Used to separate and leave a unique
pattern for each ink for identification.
Inks are made up of different
compounds; the mixtures are often
copyrighted so each company has its
own.
TLC plate developed for (a) blue fountain pen inks, (b) black fountain pen inks, (c) green fountain pen inks, and (d) red
fountain pen inks.
Spectroscopy VSC ESDA
• Identification of inks • Examination can be done • Decipher indentation

(pen ink, stamp ink , under different light sources

• Examination of altered
printer ink etc)
documents, erasures,
• Sequence of strokes obliteration, can be done.
• Aging of ink, paper • Examination of signature and
handwriting can be done
• Passport, stamp, seal
examination, counterfeit
currency notes examination,
charred documents
examination.
Comparison Stereo microscope Chromatography
Microscope • It is especially adapted for the examination
• Identification of inks (pen
ink, stamp ink , printer ink
• Examination of signature of inks, colors, erasures, interlineations, and etc)
overwriting.
and handwriting can be
• For the comparison of disturbed and
done by side by side
undisturbed paper surfaces, pen, and pencil
points, the tint, Texture and condition of
paper surfaces, the texture and quality of
typewriter ribbons, written and printed
characters, and type faces.