Apparatuses/ Equipments for QDE

1. Apparatuses/ Equipments for QDE • Stereoscopic microscope • Hand lens • Shadowgraph machine • Compound microscope • Oblique light • Micrometer caliper • Typewriter test plate • Handwriting portractor

2. Ultraviolet lamp • Transmitted light • Paper cutter • Photo enlarger • Forensic comparator • Photo paper dryer • Camera w/ macro lens • Infra-red image converter • Video spectral comparator (VSC) • Forensic optical comparator • Electrostatic detection apparatus • EXCELLENT EYESIGHT

3. Materials that form a document: • Paper • Ink • Writing Instrument

4. Paper • Earliest form—parchment or vellum • papyrus—grass like plant from Egypt • AD 874—earliest manuscript found from Egypt • AD 1049—earliest manuscript found in England

5. Commonly used papers • Writing paper pad (common paper) • Carbon paper • Heavily coated with waxy layer which hold sufficient coloring matter • Safety paper • Treated to minimize chances of forgery by erasure • Bond paper • Commonly used in typewritten documents • Stationaries • Colored and perfumed, cmmonly used for special letters

6. Ink • Earliest ink was in form of vegetable varnish • Oldest type was invented by the Chinese

7. Classes of Ink • Indian ink • Amorphous carbon in the form of lamp-black made into cake with hide glue • Printing Ink • Made by grinding carbon in form of vegetable char with varnish made of natural gums and drying oils • Canceling Ink • Often contains carbon; should be checked when deciphering cancellation marks on postage stamps or wrappers

8. Iron-tannin ink • Soluble salts of iron mixed with extracts from vegetable materials such as tan bark and nut galls used for tannin hide • Suitable with quill • Record Ink • High quality ink assured of long life • Recommended by Schutting and Neumann in government specification • Contains 0.5-0.6% iron with minimum concentration of acid • Fountain pen ink • Record ink that contains half concentration of iron compuonds but increased proportion of dye

9. Colored ink • Contains synthetic dye • Copying ink • Concentrated record ink added with glycerin or dextrin • Logwood ink • Formerly widely used but rarely encountered today • 80% dye and remainder is iron-tannin ink • Hectograph ink • Contains gelatin glycerol mixture of special clay • Dye is mixed with glucose, glycerol or glycol

10. Stamp-pad ink • Similar to hectograph inks but are heavily loaded with hhumectants such as glycerol or glycol which prevents the pad from drying up • May contain solvents such as acetone, methyl alcohol or ethyl acetate for quick drying • Liquid lead pencil ink • Ordinary ball point pen with fluid containing finely divided carbon substituted for dye

11. Writing Instrument • Roman beaver • Reed pen • Goose quill • Steel pen • Fountain pen

12. Appearance of Document • Folds and creases • Impressions • From paper clips or stamp pads • Cancellation stamps • Hand stamps of post office • Erasures • Rubbing the surface of the paper resulting in reducing thickness of paper • Surface • Examined in strong sunlight

13. Blots and smears • Devised for obscuring forger's intention to hide • Result from contact with other writings • Dimensions • Forgery may be done by trimming a part of document rather that attempting to erase • Perforations • Slight irregularities in tearing • Adhesive stamps • May reveal unsymmetrical outline due to perforations • Holes and tears • May be deliberately made to cover forgery

14. Wire marks and water marks • Identyfying features of a sheet of paper introduced into paper at the early stage of manufacture

15. Definition of terms • Document • Any material that contains marks, symbol or signs that convey message or information • Questioned Document • A document which some issues were raised, placed under scrutiny or of doubtful origin • Questioned Document Examination • Act of making a close and critical study of document questioned, disputed, attacked necessary to discover the facts about them

16. Comparison • Two or more items are set side by side (juxtaposition) to weigh their identifying qualities • Visual and mental act which the element of one item is related to the counterpart of the other • Collation • Ordering or assembling of detailed results of critical comparison of questioned document • Unified result of detailed comparison between different items or forms of information • Opinion • Document examiner's conclusion • Demonstrate the reason for arriving at the opinion

17. Natural variation • Normal or usual deviation found between repeated specimen of any individual handwriting or product of any typewriter • Natural writing • Specimen of writing executed normally without any attempt to control or alter its identifying habits and its usual quality or execution • Forensic document examiner • Anyone who examines adequate exemplars of document and provude conclusions, reasons and photographic demonstrations in court so the court can make its own determination in giving appropriate decision

18. Forensic Document Examiner • Determine if a questioned document originated from the same source as the know item • Present opinion in court as an EXPERT WITNESS • Determine what happened to a document • Determine when a document was procured • Decipher information on a document that has been obscured, obliterated or erased

19. Traits of FDE • Excellent eyesight • Pass a form blindness test • Normal color perception • Bachelor of Science degree • Training and apprenticeship

20. Responsibilities of FDE • Strive constantly to improve professional standing • Must be certain of technical conclusion • Must avoid outside influences • Must be fair and impartial on the witness stand • Must protect the innocent

21. General Principles in QDE • Documents are questiones, disputed and attacked on many grounds for various reasons • Documents should be preserved, handled and cared for in a manner that will not impair the slightest degree of its value as evidence • QD examination observes phases of specific approacher