ENFSI FIDE-WG
Definition
The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes Forensic Document Examination Working Group, which publishes best-practice manuals for document examination methods including ink analysis across EU member-state laboratories.
- Full name
- ENFSI Forensic Document Examination Working Group
- Scope
- Document examination methods, including ink analysis
- Output
- Best-practice manuals for EU member-state laboratories
- Related technique area
- TLC, HPLC, Raman and FTIR ink analysis
Common questions
Why does ink analysis specifically fall under a document-focused working group?+
Ink dating and comparison is one of the core evidentiary questions in document examination, such as establishing whether an entry was added later, so ink method guidance sits naturally alongside handwriting and paper examination standards published by the same group.
Does the FIDE-WG manual specify which technique to use for a given case?+
It generally sets out the available validated methods and their appropriate use, such as non-destructive screening before a destructive technique is applied, rather than mandating one single technique for every ink question.
Related terms
- ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflectance FTIR)
- An FTIR sampling mode in which infrared light undergoes total internal reflection in a crystal pressed against the sample surface, probing only...
- D Band and G Band (Raman)
- The characteristic Raman bands of graphitic carbon materials at approximately 1350 cm-1 (D, disorder) and 1590 cm-1 (G, graphitic C-C stretch); diagnostic...
- ESI-MS (Electrospray Ionisation Mass Spectrometry)
- An ionisation technique for LC-MS coupling that gently ionises analytes from solution at atmospheric pressure; produces molecular ion clusters and charge-state distributions...
- Photodiode-Array (PDA) Detector
- An HPLC detector that records a full UV-Vis absorption spectrum at every elution time point, producing a 3D data matrix (time, wavelength,...
- Reversed-Phase HPLC
- HPLC using a non-polar C18 stationary phase and a polar aqueous-organic mobile phase; components elute in order of increasing hydrophobicity; the standard...
- Rf Value (Retardation Factor)
- In TLC, the ratio of the distance migrated by a component to the distance migrated by the solvent front; a characteristic value...
- Solvent-Loss Dating
- An ink dating approach based on measuring the concentration of residual semi-volatile solvents (particularly phenoxyethanol in ballpoint ink) relative to a non-volatile...
- SWGMAT Guidelines
- Guidelines issued by the Scientific Working Group for Materials Analysis (US), which define best practices for forensic ink analysis including method validation,...
- Video Spectral Comparator (VSC)
- A multispectral imaging instrument combining UV, visible, and near-infrared illumination with selectable emission filters and a calibrated digital camera; the primary bench...