CHAPTER VIII

PAPER AND INK

PAPER - a thin material consisting of flat sheets made from pulped wood, cloth, or fiber. Use:
for writing and printing on, for wrapping things in, for covering walls.

At first impression it seems that the examination of questioned documents is hardly

within the province of a forensic chemist and what comes to our mind when we have
questioned documents for examination is the questioned document examiner. If we consider
the chemical aspect of the examination the forensic chemist plays an important role.
Questioned document examiner simply determines whether the signatures and other entries
therein were made by one and the same person. A forensic chemist determines the approximate
age of a document through examination of the paper and determines the approximate kind of
ink used. He performs chemical examination of the ink or pencil, paper, erasures, alterations
and sequence of writing, thus it is very evident that there is a large amount of purely chemical
work in document examination.

DOCUMENT – an original or official written or printed paper furnishing information or used

as a proof of something else. Is any object that contains handwritten or typewritten markings
that’s a source or authenticity is in doubt.

PACKING, PRESERVATION, AND TRANSPORTATION OF DOCUMENTS

Documents are precious things and therefore should treat accordingly.

1. Documents should be handled, folded and marked as little as possible.
2. If folding is necessary to send to the laboratory, the fold should be made along old
lines. Place it in Manila paper envelope or brown envelope since it is sufficiently
hard paper or it can be placed in a transparent plastic envelope.
3. On receipt the document should be placed between two sheets of plain white paper
in a folder.
4. Documents should not be touched with pencil, pen or anything that could possibly
marked them.

EXAMINATION AND COMPARISON PAPER

The essential materials in a document examination of any kind are the paper and ink or
pencil or writings. The examination of paper may be necessary if we want to know the age of the
document, the presence of alterations, erasures and other forms of forgery.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE ANALYSIS OF PAPER

1. Determination of whether two pieces of paper originated from the same source.
2. Determination of the probable age of paper.
3. Determination of the composition of paper.

COMPOSITION OF PAPER

1. Fiber composition – practically all papers maybe classified from the standpoint of their basic
fiber composition into sets of fiber mixtures namely:
a. Mechanical pulp – ground wood sulfite mixture: this is pulp from coniferous
and dicotyledonous wood in combination with sulfite chemical pulp from
conifers.
b. Soda-sulfite mixture: chemical pulp from dicotyledonous woods.
 c. Rag sulfite: cotton rag or linen rag.
2. Sizing material – added paper to improved its texture. Examples of sizing the material are
rosin, casein, gelatin, and starch.
3. Loading material – added to paper to give weight. It partially fills the pores between the
fibers of the paper. Examples of loading materials are calcium sulfate, barium sulfate.

SUBSTANCES USED FOR WRITING:

1. Egyptian papyrus – one of the earliest substances used for writing. It is form the name
papyrus that the word paper derived.
2. After papyrus came parchment and velum.
3. Then linen rag.
4. Followed by mixture of linen or cotton or cotton only.
5. Paper made from a variety of fibrous materials which started about the middle of the 19’th
century.
a. 1800 – straw was first used
b. Between 1845 and 1880 – from soda wood pulp
c. 1869 – from mechanical wood pulp
d. BETWEEN 1880 AND 1890 – from sulfite wood pulp
6. Present – a thin sheet of matted or felted vegetable fiber (usually wood pulp) with filler as
clay and sizing material as rosin or starch.
THE EXAMINATION OF PAPER

The examination and comparison of paper may determine the following:

1. The age of the paper as compared with the age of known document.
2. Whether a paper is identical with or different from one another paper whose history is
known.
3. Whether two sheets of paper of the same manufacturer were made at the same time. In this
case we have to know when the form was printed or when the paper was first made that bears
a particular mark.

THE FOUR TESTS FOR PAPER

1. Preliminary examination
2. Physical test causing no perceptible change
3. Physical test using a perceptible change
4. Chemical test

DISCUSSION OF TEST

1 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION – deals with the appearance of the document and the
following are observed:
a. Folds and creases
b. Odor
c. Impression cause by transmitted light – gives indication of color, translucency where
tampering is made, change in tint indicates substitution of sheets of paper, wiremarks
and watermarks.
d. Presence of discoloration in daylight and under the ultraviolet light
WATERMARK – if present is one of the most important features in the comparison of paper.
It is distinctive mark or design placed in the paper at the time of its manufacturer, by a roll
usually covered with wire cloth known as dandy roll which serves as a means whereby the
paper can be identified as the product of a particular manufacturer.

WIREMARK – marks produced on paper by the flexible wire soldered to the surface of the
dandy roll which carries the watermark.

2 PHYSICAL TEST CAUSING NO PRECEPTIBLE CHANGE – a test applied on paper

without perceptibly changing or altering the original appearance of the document.
 a. Measurement of length and width – to indicate that they originated from the same
manufacturer if two pieces are found to be exactly the same.
b. Measurement of thickness
c. Measurement of weight/unit area
d. Color of the paper – it is closely related to its brightness. A side by side comparison
maybe made in well-diffused light. Observation of color is influenced by the texture,
gloss, finish, type of illumination and the element of human error.
e. Texture
f. Gloss – gloss and texture maybe determined by visual observation in good daylight or
under different kinds of illumination.
g. Opacity – the quality of paper which does not allow light to pass through or which
prevents dark objects from being seen through the paper.
h. Microscopic examination/inspection – for possible present of dirt, foreign particles,
imperfections, wire marks or certain unusual fibers. These maybe a deciding factors in
determining whether or not two pieces of paper were made by the same manufacturer.

3 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION CAUSING A PERCEPTIBLE CHANGE – this is done only

if sufficient samples are available and if prior authorization from the court is required this
can be done.
a. Bursting strength test or “POP” test – the apparent pressure necessary to burst a hole in a
sheet when properly inserted in a suitable instrument.
b. Folding endurance test – it is obtained on an instrument which registers the number of
alternate folds the paper will stand before breaking.
c. Accelerated aging test – there are some methods of aging a document artificially namely:
1 Soaking in coffee solution
2 Soaking in tea solution
3 Exposure to charcoal
4 Ironing
5 Heating in an oven
6 Exposure to ultraviolet light
d. Absorption test – maybe made to determined either the rate of absorption or the total
absorption of the paper. A strip of paper is suspended in water or ink or other liquid.

4 CHEMICAL TEST – this test determines the fiber composition, the loading material and
sizing material used in the proper.

A. Fiber composition – the examination is purely microscopic and it determines the

materials used and nature of processing. This may be determined by boiling a small piece
of the document in 5% sodium hydroxide. The liquid poured off and the fragment of
paper washed and teased out on a glass slide and stained with the following and the color
observed under the microscope.
a. Potassium iodide, 2 gms; iodine, 1.5 gms; glycerine, 2cc; water, 20cc
b. 1 zinc chloride, 20 gms; water, 10cc
2 potassium iodide, 2 gms; iodine, 1 gm; water, 5cc
Mix 1 and 2 and allow mixture to stand and decant clear supernatant liquid
for used. (The solution is zinc-chloriodine)
c. Phloroglucine,, 1 gm; 55 cc water; 5 cc concentrated HCl
d. 10% solution of aniline sulfate

B. sizing material – the sizing materials maybe tested by:

a. Gelatin – it is extracted by boiling the paper in water. The solution is tested with
dilute tannic solution. Positive result is yellow precipitate.
b. Rosin – this is extracted by heating the paper on a water bath with 95% solution. The
solution obtained is evaporated to dryness and the residue dissolved in acetic
anhydride, cooled, transferred to a porcelain dish and strong sulfuric acid is added.
Positive result is reddish-violet color that quickly changes to red brown.
 Simple test for rosin: place a few drops of ether on the paper and if rosin is
present a brown ring will be formed when ether evaporates.
c. Starch – add a dilute iodine solution on the paper. Blue color is produced if starch is
present.
d. Casein – it can be detected by addition of million’s reagent on the paper. Pink color
appears if casein is present.

THE ANALYSIS OF INK

INK - A colored liquid or paste used for writing, printing or drawing.

Some of the most important questions that arise in the analysis of ink are:
1 Whether the ink is the same or like or different in kind from ink on other parts of the same
document or on other documents.
2 Whether two writings made with the same kind of ink were made with the identical ink, or
inks of different qualities or in different conditions.
3 Whether an ink is as old as it purports to be.
4 Whether documents of different dates or a succession of differently dated book entries show
the natural variations in ink writing or whether the conditions point to one continuous writing
at one time under the same condition.

TYPES OF INK
There are varieties of ink in the market today, but all modern inks are essentially of six types:

1 GALLOTANNIC INK OR IRON-NUTGALL INK(blue) – today the most frequently used

ink for making entries in record books and for business purposes. Gallotannic ink is made of
a solution of iron salt(ferrous sulfate) and nutgall (iron gallotannate). This ink can penetrate
into the interstices of the fiber and not merely on the surface thus making its removals more
difficult to accomplish. The color changes undergone by this ink in the process of oxidation
provides a valuable means of estimating the approximate age of the writing.
Blue – with the naked eye, very recent
Violet – less recent
Black – still less recent

2 LOGWOOD INK (black) – the color is dependent on the inorganic salt added, but on drying
and standing they turn back. It is made of saturated solution of logwood to which very small
amount of potassium dichromate is added. Hydrochloric acid is added to prevent formation
of precipitate. Phenol is added as preservative. This ink is inexpensive, does not corrode steel
pen. Will not washed off the paper even fresh, flows freely.

3 NIGROSINE INK OR ANILINE INK (blue black or purple black) – made of coal tar
product called nigrosine dissolved in water. It is easily smudge, affected by moisture, maybe
washed off from the paper with little difficulty.

4 CARBON INK OR CHINESE INK OR INDIA INK – the oldest ink material known. Today,
finely divided carbon is held in colloidal suspension and used to produce deep black drawing
and writing ink. Made of carbon in the form of lampblack. Does not penetrate deeply into the
fibers of the paper so that it may easily be washed off. Not affected by the usual ink testing
reagents.

5 COLORED WRITING INK – today almost all colored inks are composed of synthetic
aniline dyestuffs dissolved in water. In certain colored inks ammonium vanadate is added to
render the writing more permanent.

6 BALLPOINT PEN INK – made of light fast dyes soluble in glycol type solvents like
carbitol, glycol or oleic acid.
 TEST FOR INK

1 Physical method/test – applied to determine the color and presence of alterations, erasures,
destruction of sizes with the use of stereoscope, hand lens, microscope.
2 Chemical Test/Spot Test – a simple test wherein different chemicals or reagent are applied on
the ink strokes and the chemical reactions or characteristic color reactions or other changes in
the ink are observed.
REAGENTS USED: 5% hydrochloric acid, 10% oxalic acid, tartaric acid, 2% sodium
hydroxide, 10% sodium hypochlorite, chlorine water, water, etc.
3 Paper chromatography test – a reliable procedure which can be adopted to identify and
compare ballpoint pen ink.

DETERMINATION OF APPROXIMATE AGE OF DOCUMENT

1. Age of ink – no definite procedure which can be given for this determination except when the
color is black, because on the observation that within a few hours the color of ink writings
becomes darker because the dye contain therein is influenced by the light of the room,
oxygen of the air, acidity or alkalinity of the paper.

There are several methods of determining the degree of oxidation of the ink writing and
apparently these methods depend upon:
a. Physical phenomena such as matching the color of the ink writing with standard
colors or with itself over a period of time.
b. Chemical reaction which may reveal some information concerning the length of time
the ink has been on the paper.

Changes undergone by gallotannic ink:

1. First, reaching a maximum degree of blackening within the first year or two.
2. Then fades gradually over a period of many years until only a rust colored deposit
remains.
This period of time can be stated only approximate since the oxidation processes
are retarded or accelerated according to the degree of atmospheric humidity, the
light, the quality of the ink itself, the paper, the condition of blotting, condition of
storage, etc.

2. Age of paper –
a. Through watermarks
b. In certain cases from the composition of paper

OTHER ASPECT OF DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

The detection and deciphering of illegible writing which is not capable of being read
usually made on cheeks, birth certificate, passports, transcript of records.

Examples of illegible writings:

1. Erasures – the removal of writing from the paper. It can be made mechanically or chemically.
2. Obliteration – the obscuring of writings by superimposing ink, pencil or other marking
materials.
3. Sympathetic ink – substances used for invisible writing.
4. Indented writing – term applied to the partially visible depression appearing on a sheet of
paper underneath the one which the visible writing appears.
5. Writing on carbon paper – remember that used sheets of carbon paper can be made readable.
6. Contact writing – blank paper may contain traces of ink because of previous contact with
some writings.