Spotting Forgeries
While our technology relies on non-visible spectral data, understanding the visual mechanics of forgery highlights exactly why traditional human authentication fails.
The Drawn Signature (Tracing)
Authentic signatures are executed rapidly; they rely on muscle memory. A forger often projects an authentic signature onto a substrate and slowly traces it.
Because the forger is drawing rather than signing, they move slowly. This causes the pen tip to rest on the paper longer, resulting in microscopic ink pooling (darker spots) along straight lines where a natural signature would be fastest and lightest.
The Autopen Epidemic
Modern politicians and high-profile executives utilize Autopen machines. These devices physically hold a real pen and replicate a programmed matrix. Visually, they are perfect.
The tell is the Z-axis (depth). A human hand alters pressure naturally. An Autopen applies exactly the same pressure across the entire matrix. This uniform pressure creates a flat, mechanical topographical profile visible only under NIR (Near-Infrared) scanning.
Use the Autopen Pattern Matcher →Substrate Anachronisms
Forgers often secure period-correct blank paper (e.g., removing the blank flyleaf from a 1920s book) to execute a fake signature of a historical figure.
While the paper is authentic, the ink is not. Spectral analysis can immediately differentiate between true vintage iron gall ink and modern synthetic approximations based on how they absorb specific wavelengths of light.
Simulate UV Fluorescence →Visual inspection cannot confirm chemical composition.