NCJ Number
175382
Journal
International Journal of Forensic Document Examiners Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: April-June 1998 Pages: 119-127
Date Published
1998
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The effects of 3 chemical ink eradicators on 8 different inks each marked on 6 types of document papers were measured at several different time intervals, including every minute up to 5 minutes and every 5 minutes up to 60 minutes.
Abstract
The chemical eradicators included an alkaline Clorox solution, an acidic Clorox solution, and alkaline hydrogen peroxide. Results revealed that the two blue aqueous inks were most readily oxidized and easily removed by the alkaline Clorox erasure. The Reynolds black ballpoint ink oxidized at a moderate rate. The Bic and Stick blue ballpoint inks and the black aqueous ink underwent slow oxidation; the removal of these inks did not take place until some of the paper fibers degraded due to the high pH of the solution. The color change was faster at first than later for these six inks. However, the color of the Reynolds blue and red ballpoint inks remained constant during the 60 minutes. The acidic Clorox solution had the most pronounced effect of the three erasure solutions on the majority of the inks. This result may have been due to the solution's ability to oxidize inks with two agents: hypochlorite ions and chlorine. In contrast, the alkaline solution of the hydrogen peroxide erasure had the lowest effect of the three erasure solutions on the removal or color of the different inks. Findings indicated that the rate of color change of inks at different time intervals depends on the chemical erasure, ink, and paper used at a definite temperature and constant relative humidity. Tables and 12 references (Author abstract modified)