Effects of Water Temperature vs. Time inHumidifying Documents for Electrostatic Detection Apparatus Examination

Forensic Document Examiners (FDE) use different time intervals and water temperatures when humidifying documents before examining them with the Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA). The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal conditions when humidifying documents for an ESDA examination, for a laboratory that does not utilize a temperature and humidity controlled ESDA room, by using the variables of water temperature and time. The study was conducted using the conditions set forth in the ESDA instruction manual by Foster and Freeman except for changes noted in this paper. The best conditions varied depending on the type of writing instrument and the paper layer examined. Overall, the ideal water temperature and time combination was 55° F for ten minutes.