Research on the sequence of laser printing and fountain pen writing without a crossing line

Abstract

An important way to determine the authenticity and validity of documents is by the sequence of lines. Many factors have been found to determine line order by observing the heterogeneous morphological characteristics of crossing points. However, to date, few methods have been applied to the sequence of laser printing and fountain pen writing without a crossing line. The sequence is more difficult to examine if there is no intersecting line. In this study, a series of experiments were conducted to survey the microscopic shape of ink lines, toner particles and paper fibres using a video tomography microscope. Several factors, such as the types of ink and laser printer, the difference of writer and the class of fountain pen, were analysed to determine whether they might affect the formation of characteristics. The final experimental result demonstrates that there are many differences among the samples made by different sequences. These factors have only a slight effect on the examination. After blind testing, it was found that the methodology can be applied to determine the sequence of laser printing and fountain pen writing.

Keywords:

• forensic science
• questioned document
• sequence
• laser printing
• fountain pen writing
• no crossing line

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.