ASTM_E_2494_-_08.pdf

Designation:E249408Standard Guide forExamination of Typewritten Items1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2494;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers procedures that should be used byforensic document examiners(Guide E444)for examinationsand comparisons involving typewritten items and relatedprocedures.1.2 These procedures are applicable whether the examina-tion and comparison is of questioned and known items or ofexclusively questioned items.1.3 These procedures include evaluation of the sufficiencyof the material(questioned,or known,or both)available forexamination.1.4 Procedures are also given for taking exemplars fromtypewriters and the proper handling of typewriters or parts oftypewriters that might be relevant.1.5 These methods can also be applicable(in whole or inpart)to examinations of documents prepared on other impactand nonimpact printing devices.1.6 The particular methods employed in a given case willdepend upon the nature of the material available for examina-tion.1.7 This guide might not cover all aspects of unusual oruncommon examinations of typewritten items.1.8 This guide cannot replace training(Guide E2388)orexperience and should be used in conjunction with professionaljudgment.1.9 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regardedas standard.The values given in parentheses are mathematicalconversions to SI units that are provided for information onlyand are not considered standard.1.10 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E444 Guide for Scope of Work of Forensic DocumentExaminersE1658 Terminology for Expressing Conclusions of ForensicDocument ExaminersE1732 Terminology Relating to Forensic ScienceE2195 Terminology Relating to the Examination of Ques-tioned DocumentsE2287 Guide for Examination of Fracture Patterns and PaperFiber Impressions on Single-Strike Film Ribbons andTyped TextE2331 Guide for Examination of Altered DocumentsE2388 Guide for Minimum Training Requirements for Fo-rensic Document ExaminersF221 Terminology Relating to Carbon Paper and InkedRibbon Products and Images Made TherefromF909 Terminology Relating to PrintersF1457 Terminology Relating to Laser Printers3.Terminology3.1 For definitions of terms in this Guide,refer to Termi-nology E1732 and Terminology E2195.Some useful defini-tions of terms can also be found in the other Terminologystandards in 2.1.3.2 Definitions:3.2.1 ball element,nan element used in a single elementtypewriter in which the fully formed characters are located onthe outer surface of a sphere-like device.Frequently calledgolf-ball element.3.2.2 baseline,nthe ruled or imaginary line upon whichtypewriting appears to rest.3.2.3 carbon paper,na sheet composed of a supportingsubstrate on one or both sides of which is a coating containinga transferable(usually colored)material.The coating is of suchnature that it will transfer in part or entirely to a copy sheet atthe point of pressure contact.F2211This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on ForensicSciences and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E30.90 on Executive.Current edition approved July 1,2008.Published August 2008.Originallyapproved in 2007.Last previous edition approved in 2007 as E2494 07.DOI:10.1520/E2494-08.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 3.2.4 character,nany language symbol(for example,letter,numeral,punctuation mark,or other sign),other symbol,or ornament.E21953.2.5 character pitch,nthe number of characters that canbe printed in a horizontal 1 in.(25.4 mm).F14573.2.6 character spacing,nthe width allotted to each char-acter in a fixed pitch(monospacing)typewriter or to the basicunit in a proportional spacing typewriter;usually expressed inmillimeters or as a fraction of an inch.Synonym for horizontalescapement.3.2.7 correctable ribbon,na ribbon that produces animage that is designed to be completely removed from thesubstrate by means of lift-off.3.2.8 correction media,nribbons,tapes,and sheets de-signed to be struck by the typeface to cover-up or lift-off typedtext.3.2.9 cover-up,nthe obliteration of one or more imagesby means of an opaque material similar in color to thesubstrate.