ISSN: 0022-1198
Published Online: 6 April 2005
Page Count: 6

Inhomogeneity and Aging of Ballpoint Pen Inks Inside of Pen Cartridges
Andrasko, J
National Laboratory of Forensic Science,

Kunicki, M
Institute of Forensic Research,

(Received 2 October 2004; accepted 30 December 2004)

Abstract

Inhomogeneity and aging of ballpoint pen inks inside of cartridges, particularly near the tip of a pen, were studied by HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography). No indication of aging in terms of changes in dye composition inside of a regularly used pen was observed. Ink entries on paper were, however, found inhomogeneous concerning concentration of phenoxyethanol, a volatile compound commonly present in ballpoint inks. Detectable and sometimes considerable aging of inks near the tip of cartridges not used for writing for many years was observed. Both evaporation of phenoxyethanol and aging of cationic dye mixture were detected at the start when writing with such pens. The consequence of this finding for ink examination, both ink comparison and ink aging, is discussed.

Keywords:
forensic science, questioned documents, ink dating, ink aging, HPLC, ballpoint ink

Paper ID: JFS2004436
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2004436
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