NCJ Number
186090
Journal
International Journal of Forensic Document Examiners Volume: 5 Dated: December/January 1999 Pages: 270-279
Date Published
1999
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The decipherment of obliterated writings poses a challenge to a document examiner, since the solution is more dependent on the type of writing and nature of obliterating fluid rather than the instrumentation available to the examiner; this paper proposes a simple and non-destructive method for addressing this problem.
Abstract
Writings made with various colored inks were obliterated by smearing them with different colored fluids, so that the ink writings became illegible to the naked eye. These writings were then scanned with a color digital scanner. The scanned image was then transferred to another software, Corel Photopaint Version 5.0, for further manipulations to decipher the smeared writings. Each color model suppressed the same colors and made others prominent, thus resulting in the obliterated writings being deciphered. In previous similar research, Hicks reported a method based on computer technology to solve various problems in questioned documents, such as the comparison of typescripts, deciphering obliterations, enhancing ESDA images, etc. Hicks used Adobe Photoshop 3.0. The Corel PhotoPaint Version 5.0 used in the current research offers more versatility and options. Corel offers five different color channels for decipherment. Similarly options of brightness, contrast, intensity, and paintbrush are also available with Corel software. 6 figures and 3 references