VSC-8000
Definition
Video Spectral Comparator by Foster + Freeman, the standard QD instrument in CFSL and GEQD labs, with broadband visible, UV (254, 365 nm), IR reflectance and IR luminescence imaging plus filters and side-lighting.
- Manufacturer
- Foster + Freeman, UK
- Primary use
- Document examination, alterations, erasures, and authenticity
- Imaging modes
- UV (254, 365 nm), IR reflectance, IR luminescence, IR transmission, visible light
Common questions
What is the VSC-8000 used for in document examination?+
The VSC-8000 is a spectral imaging instrument that reveals alterations, erasures, and hidden writing in documents. It uses different wavelengths of light (UV, visible, infrared) and filters to detect changes that are invisible to the naked eye.
What imaging modes does the VSC-8000 offer?+
The instrument provides infrared reflectance, infrared luminescence, infrared transmission, and UV imaging at specific wavelengths (254 nm and 365 nm). It also captures broadband visible light images with side-lighting options and filters for detailed analysis.
Where is the VSC-8000 typically found?+
The VSC-8000 is the standard bench instrument in questioned document and forensic labs. It's manufactured by Foster + Freeman in the UK and is used widely in crime labs and document examination facilities.
Related terms
- ESDA
- Electrostatic Detection Apparatus; detects latent indentations in paper by charging the surface and cascading toner particles, revealing tracing stylus pressure and writing...
- IR Luminescence
- Emission of near-infrared radiation by ink dye molecules when excited by visible light; different ink formulations luminesce at different intensities, allowing differentiation...
- Addition (Interlineation, Insertion)
- Fresh writing squeezed between lines, in margins, after the last entry, or in blank spaces left in the original document. Often shows...
- Alteration
- Any change made to a document after its original execution, including erasure, obliteration, addition, substitution and overwriting. A material alteration changes the...
- Erasure (Chemical)
- Removal of ink by bleaching or oxidising agents such as sodium hypochlorite, chloramine T, oxalic acid, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. Leaves...
- Erasure (Mechanical)
- Physical removal of writing by rubber, knife, scalpel blade, sandpaper or eraser. Disturbs paper fibres, thins the paper, and lifts the sizing...
- Inkjet Printing
- Non-impact printing that sprays liquid ink droplets onto paper. Two main technologies: thermal (HP, Canon, bubble-jet) and piezoelectric (Epson).
- MIC / Yellow Tracking Dots
- Machine Identification Code: faint yellow micro-dots printed by many colour laser printers and copiers on every page, encoding serial number and timestamp....
- Oblique-Light Photography
- Photography of a document surface using illumination at a low angle (10 to 15 degrees from the paper plane), which casts shadows...
- Obliteration
- Covering of existing writing with an opaque layer (ink, correction fluid, or correction tape) so that the underlying text is invisible in...
- Overwriting
- Tracing over an original stroke with a fresh stroke, usually to change a digit or letter. Detected by stroke thickness, hesitation, and...
- Photographic Reproduction
- Lab-side imaging of a questioned document using controlled lighting (oblique, transmitted, coaxial), filters and wavelengths from UV through visible to IR, to...
Explained in these topics
- Examination of Alterations: Erasures, Obliterations and AdditionsVideo Spectral Comparator by Foster + Freeman, the standard QD instrument in CFSL and GEQD labs, with broadband visible, UV (254, 365 nm), IR reflectance and I...
- Reproduction of Documents: Photographic and Mechanical MeansVideo Spectral Comparator manufactured by Foster + Freeman, UK. Standard QD bench instrument for UV, visible, IR reflectance, IR luminescence and IR transmissi...