NCJ Number
196579
Date Published
2002
Length
241 pages
Annotation
This book informs the forensic document examiner of the various processes for manufacturing and making rubber stamps and seals and how these processes can be identified and differentiated from one another in a forensic document examination.
Abstract
The chapters of the book guide the forensic document examiner through the manufacturing processes of seals and stamps. Chapter 1 discusses the history and manufacturing processes for seals, providing information on the evolution of the seal or stamp from ancient history to its contemporary form and usage. This history also provides a time line for certain manufacturing processes or materials. This information is valuable in cases that involve a disputed date for a stamp or seal. Chapter 2 focuses on the primary classifications of stamps and describes the characteristics, so as to assist the examiner in classifying a stamp submitted for examination. Chapter 3 is an in-depth study of the various manufacturing processes (mainstream) of hand, self-inking, and pre-inked stamps. This is intended to give the examiner a better understanding of the normal characteristics and possible defects that provide clues in determining the specific processes used to produce the submitted stamp or a questioned impression. Chapter 4 details the characteristics commonly found on stamp dies, categorized by materials in each manufacturing process and listing possible defects. The next chapter suggests an appropriate methodology for the examination process in a case that involves a stamp-to-an-impression comparison, or an impression-to-impression comparison. The remaining two chapters address photography and the various techniques the forensic document examiner can use in photographing the stamp die or the impression, as well as stamp inks and pigments. 17 human resource references, glossary, index, and appended quick reference charts and milestones in the history of stamps and marking devices