These broad categories include the comparison of handwriting and hand printing; the comparison of signatures; the comparison of mechanical impressions, such as typewriters, checkwriters, hand stamps, machine stamps, printed matter and machine copies; the examination of altered documents; the restoration of charred papers; the examination of inks and papers; the decipherment of indented writings; and the examination of sequential problems. Questioned documents may become the subject of either criminal or civil litigation. Instruction in the field is provided through an apprenticeship program in a recognized questioned-document laboratory under the direct guidance of a qualified examiner. The document laboratory has a variety of equipment available, including the stereo-binocular microscope, the measuring microscope and comparison microscope, photographic equipment, typewriter test plates, and a library of related materials. Figures, a glossary, and endnotes are provided. The bibliography includes 83 items. Twenty-three legal citations are listed.