Forensic Document Analysis

The Photocopier and Forensic Document Analysis

From time to time a criminal will try to use a photocopier as a way to conceal his handwriting thinking that using a copier to copy a document will remove all traces of the original paper and ink used to create the original document. It can affect the way in which the handwriting shows up on the page, however, under forensic document analysis; the use of a photocopier can actually be used against the criminal instead of helping him.

When Cina Wong Forensic Expert undertakes forensic document analysis of a photocopied document, they start out by making a photocopy using the suspected machine so that it can be used as a comparison. Every photocopier machine leaves telltale marks on the paper from the various wheels and rollers that move the paper through. Toners are very similar to ink and can be matched by brand and lot number and can also be used to help trace the copier that was used and perhaps lead to the perpetrator.