What is a photocopy????
• It is a copy of usually written
or printed material made with
a process in which an image is
formed by the action of light
usually on an electrically
charged surface.
Contd….
• It is also called xerography, which was derived from two
Greek words “xeros” , meaning dry and “graphos” ,
meaning writing.
• Xerography was invented in the late 1930s by an American
patent lawyer named Chester Carlson. It is a printing and
photocopying technique that works on the basis of
electrostatic charges.
How does photocopier machine works???
• To produce photocopies of an original
document, the photocopy machine
first makes a temporary image, a sort
of negative of the original.
• Inside the machine is cylinder or
drum made of a highly conductive
metal, usually aluminum, coated
with a photoconductive, often
selenium.
Contd….
• The surface of the drum is then
charged using LED or laser light
source.
• The printed area of the original
document will form positive
charge on the drum, forming a
latent image of the printed
matter.
Contd….
• The charge on the image area is used
to attract the negative toner particles
to make the image visible on the drum
surface.
• A stronger electrical charge of the
same type is given to the paper. This
causes toner to transfer from drum to
paper.
Contd….
• The toner is adhered or
fixed to the paper by heat
and pressure.
• A lamp or hot roller melts
the toner, which is
absorbed into the paper.
Handling of photocopied documents
• Photocopied exhibits should be stored in paper folders not
plastic. Plastic will stick to the exhibit affecting any future
chemical analysis of the photocopier toner.
Examination of photocopies
• This can be done by analyzing:
1. Paper type
2. Photocopying toner
3. Machine characteristics
Paper type
• The paper weight and dimensions will be specified by the
photocopier manufactures.
• To create a charge sensitive surface the paper is coated
with zinc oxide.
Toner type
1. Dry toner – it contains the discrete resinous particles,
which can be best examined by IR spectroscopy and
Pyrolysis mass spectroscopy. Dry toner has a raised,
glossy appearance on the paper.
2. Liquid toner - Liquid toner appears to dye the individual
paper fibers and can be examined under
stereomicroscope (10X magnification) and SEM.
Machine characteristics
• Apart from those marks which are characteristic of a
model other individual marks of the photocopier appear
on a copy caused by dirt, damage or malfunction of the
machine.
• Trash marks are the most significant marks formed
randomly on the photocopies due to dust or damage on
the machine.
Contd…
• These trash marks may appear in group just like cluster
of stars.
• The marks on platen will occur each time the document
is copied.
• The marks on the drum will occur regularly but not with
same frequency as copies are produced. It may show at
different places on successive copies.
Contd…
• Other problems can also occur due to defects in the
corona wire which charges the drum and paper.
Color photocopy
• Full color photocopy machines were
first introduced in 1969.
• Color Photocopy Machine which has
four color independent drums CMYK
(C-CYAN, M-MAGENTA, Y-YELLOW,
K-BLACK).
• It works on the principle of laser
printer.
