PHOTOGRAPHY AND QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXAMINATION

A. PURPOSES OF PHOTOGRAPHS IN QDE:

1. serve as record of the initial condition of a disputed document;
2. make clear what otherwise may be hidden or indistinct;
3. enlarge a writing in question so that every quality and characteristics of it can be clearly
and properly interpreted whether the facts so shown point to genuineness or to forgery;
4. enable any number of accurate reproductions of document, thus affording unlimited
opportunity for study, comparison and evaluation by any number of examiners, which
would not be possible by using the document alone;
5. allow cutting apart as may be desired and the various parts classified for comparisons;
6. can show delicate discolorations due to chemical erasures or other fraudulent changes,
which may otherwise be overlooked, or misinterpreted;
7. can show very clearly any erasures by abrasions made by ordinary rubber eraser and it
can record in permanent form with the paper placed obliquely to the plane of the lens
and plate and inclined at just right angle of reflection so as to show differences in the
reflected light from different portions of the paper surface; and
8. with transmitted light, photographs is useful in:
a. examination of watermarks
b. determining the identity, or the differences in paper by showing arrangement of the
fibers and the markings of the wire gauze and dandy roll
c. showing the continuity of strokes and
d. determining retouching or patching of a writing by showing clearly the presence of
added ink film and the uneven distribution of ink in interrupted strokes.

MISCELLANEOUS EXAMINATIONS:
A. ERASURES - One of the common inquiries in questioned document is whether or not an
erasure was actually made on a document. In cases like this, the following examinations
are made:
1. Physical inspection: using ultraviolet light, observation with light striking the surface at
a sharp angle, and observation under the microscope maybe considered.
2. Fuming with iodine may cause an almost negligible stain, but in most instances not the
slightest semblance of a stain remains.

B. INDENTED WRITING - Indented writing is a term usually applied to the partially visible
depressions appearing on a sheet of paper underneath the one on which the visible writing
appears. These depressions or indentation are due to the application of pressure on the
writing instrument and would appear as a carbon copy if a sheet of carbon paper had been
properly inserted. Indentation may also appear on a blank sheet of paper if such is used as
a backing sheet while typing out a message on a typewriter. Methods of examination are:
1. Physical methods maybe used by passing a strong beam of nearly parallel light almost
horizontally over the surface of the paper.
2. Fuming the document maybe of values in some cases.
3. Powders of various kinds maybe used without changing the document.

C. BURNED OR CHARRED PAPER - A piece of paper maybe subjected to the action of a

limited amount of heat, causing it to become scorched and retaining a certain amount of its
 identity or it maybe subjected to intense heat, reducing it to ashes and losing its identity.
However, if the combustion is incomplete, a certain amount of success maybe realized
provided the pieces are large enough to form a coherent message.
The following methods maybe applied to decipher the original message contained
thereon:
1. Photographic methods, using various types of filters and different angles of
illumination may determine the writing contained thereon without changing the
appearance of the charred fragments.
2. Chemical methods, such as spraying, painting, or bathing charred pieces with
solutions of different chemical reagents.
3. Photographic plates maybe utilized by allowing the charred paper to remain in contact
with the emulsion sides in total darkness from one to two weeks.

D. ADDING MACHINES - The construction of an adding machine differs greatly from the
typewriter but the methods and principles of identification are related.
Manufacturers use different types of numerals and from time to time change their design.
The spacing between columns is also not standardized for all machines. Those factors form
the basis of determining the make of the machine and for estimating the period in which it
was built.
Another kind of approach is the ribbon impression, for the ribbon is made and operates
very similarly to the typewriter.