The International Ink Library and its Digital Ink Library are an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

forensic database of inks. It is used to identify writing instruments, makes, models, ink types, and document authenticity. It contains over 15,000 samples of pen, marker, and printer inks dating from the 1920s. As part of the FBI Questioned Documents Branch, it is used to investigate criminal and terrorist cases, fraudulent documents, forgeries, checks, money orders, and threats to persons. It uses

high-performance thin-layer chromatography High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) is an enhanced form of thin-layer chromatography (TLC). A number of enhancements can be made to the basic method of thin-layer chromatography to automate the different steps, to increase the r ...

electrophoresis Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fie ...

, ultraviolet spectra,

electrospray ionization Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a technique used in mass spectrometry to produce ions using an electrospray in which a high voltage is applied to a liquid to create an aerosol. It is especially useful in producing ions from macromolecules becaus ...

and mass spectrometry. It also analyzes chemical date tags expressly inserted by ink manufacturers. The database originated in the 1960s from the collection of Antonio Cantu, former Chief Forensic Chemist at the Secret Service, which dedicated the lab in his honor. There is no cost to access, but is limited to

U.S. Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

directorates, students through coordinated research initiatives, and law enforcement entities. It handles over 500 cases per year. It has been used in such cases as the

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

forged documents, the Martha Stewart conviction, as well as the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

attacks. It was also used in the

D.C. Sniper ''D.C. Sniper'' is a 2010 American direct-to-video drama-thriller film directed by Ulli Lommel and written by Lommel and Ken Foree. It stars Foree, Christopher Kriesa and Maria Ochoa. Plot The film tells over the Beltway sniper attacks, the crime ...

attacks in which the sniper had written "Call me God" on tarot Death cards. Tarot_from_DC_Sniper_case

References

{{reflist Forensic databases Year of establishment missing