Forging Stamps, Seals, and Signatures

Forging Stamps and Seals: Method 1

We thank the unknown author of this text, discovered in the depths of the Internet, for their ingenuity and good taste. We apologize for making minor stylistic edits.

Let me tell you how to make stamps and seals using a laser printer or copier and Chupa Chups lollipops.

First, you’ll need to create a graphic image of the stamp. You can use the computer program Stamp (Official website: http://www.stampz.ru/). In my opinion, its interface leaves much to be desired, but it gets the job done.

Once you’ve created the stamp image, don’t apply any blur effects or mirror the image. Print a test copy to make sure everything looks right. Next, find a piece of self-adhesive paper, peel off the sticky part, and stick it wherever you want.

We’ll need the backing from this paper. Not every backing works well—if it’s too waxy and glossy, it’s not ideal. You may need to experiment a bit.

Print your image on the waxy side of the backing using a laser printer. If the backing is good, all the toner will stick, but only lightly. Be careful not to damage the image. Don’t have a laser printer? Print with an inkjet and copy it on a good copier. The main thing is to get a high-contrast image with a thick toner layer. No copier either? Try to get help from a friendly secretary—after all, you’re a super agent, not a pig’s tail. I can’t solve your interpersonal problems for you.

Since the finished image is easy to damage, it’s best to make the stamp blank in advance. Make a paper mold about 7-10 millimeters high, round or any shape you need, and put a pad of waxy backing (wax side up) at the bottom. Melt a couple of lollipops or candy cocks on a stick over low heat and pour into the mold. Attach a wooden handle on top. You can even stick a chess piece into the hot candy. Let it cool. Remove the mold bottom and peel off the wax paper. You should have a smooth, shiny working surface that’s slightly sticky, like any candy.

Now, carefully place the stamp image (toner side down) onto the candy and smooth it with your fingernail. The toner will stick to the candy much better than to the wax paper. If you’re unsure, gently iron it with the tip of a barely warm iron. Remove the wax backing—the toner will remain on the candy’s working surface.

The final step: Fill a glass with room temperature or slightly cooler water. Dip the stamp blank in, working surface down, and hold it there. Periodically take it out and check. The exposed candy surface will dissolve in water, while the toner-protected areas will remain untouched. You’ll end up with a raised stamp. Don’t use water that’s too warm or shake the blank in the water, or the sides will get etched. Don’t try to etch too deeply—less than a millimeter is usually enough for a good impression on a hard surface. There’s no need to remove the toner after etching.

I haven’t tried protecting the finished stamp from gradually dissolving in ink, but I think you could coat it with a thin layer of liquid alcohol-based varnish. Use alcohol-based varnish, because toner dissolves in acetone and similar solvents, but not in alcohol. You could also try a very thin alcohol solution of PVA glue. Once fully dry, it’s almost insoluble in water.

Forging Stamps and Seals: Method 2

Here’s another, quite original method. If you have a piece of paper with a sufficiently bold impression of the stamp you need, you can easily transfer it to a blank form.

Here’s how: First, boil a regular chicken egg hard (about 10 minutes). Make sure it doesn’t crack—add a spoonful of table salt to the water to help. Prepare the document with the original stamp and a blank form in advance. Take out the egg and let it cool, but not completely—just enough to peel it.

Peel the shell. Using the hot egg white, slowly and thoroughly roll it over the original stamp. Do this only once, or the image will get smudged. As soon as you’re done, immediately roll the egg over the blank sheet in the same way. The ink from the stamp first transfers to the hot egg white as a mirror image, then prints onto the clean paper.

Unfortunately, it’s quite difficult to copy old or faded stamps this way. Professionals in this case have learned to carefully and precisely trace the old stamp with fresh ink using a fine feather, then proceed as described above.

Forging Stamps and Seals: Method 3

And finally, Hi-Tech! You’ll need a computer, scanner, printer, and Adobe Photoshop (Official website: http://www.adobe.com/). Scan the original with the stamp into Photoshop. Set the scanning resolution to about 300 dpi—this is optimal for printing. Remove any unnecessary background (for example, if the stamp is on a photo, or a signature overlaps the stamp), adjust the levels, contrast, and brightness. Print it out on a color inkjet printer. The stamp will look more natural if you laminate the document with tape or a laminator. This is how transit passes, permits, and copies of important documents are forged. In the latter case, the created “dummy” is usually copied on a copier.

Ways to Forge a Signature

1. Place the original with the signature on a blank form so the signature is exactly where it needs to be. Using a ballpoint pen with an empty cartridge, trace over the original signature, pressing down (but not too hard). Remove the original. The blank form underneath will have an impression of the signature in the form of a groove, which is easy to trace over with ink.
2. Scan the original signature and transfer it to your computer. Then print the signature on a blank sheet using a printer, in purple or blue with the lowest possible saturation so the signature is barely visible. Then trace over this template with a regular pen.
3. Some highly artistic people can copy a signature perfectly just by looking at it. Our land will never run out of talent!

Some especially crafty subordinates can slip the needed paper to the boss among a stack of others while he’s, say, on the phone. Distracted, the boss will sign whatever is put in front of him.

How to Remove Ink or Stamp Impressions

1. Now for some methods of the opposite kind: instead of forging, we’ll be removing unwanted inscriptions.
2. Moisten the writing with a solution of bleaching powder (calcium hypochlorite). Dry it. Repeat if necessary. Bleaching powder is sold in hardware stores and used for disinfection. The concentration is determined by trial and error. This method only works for weak and pale inscriptions.
3. Prepare a solution of pharmacy-grade potassium permanganate in acetic acid. The concentration should be such that the solution is a deep purple color. Wrap a small piece of cotton around a matchstick, dip it in the solution, and wipe the writing. Continue until the writing disappears. Purple stains from the potassium permanganate can be removed by wiping with a fresh pharmacy-grade hydrogen peroxide solution. Dry, but don’t use heat. This method completely removes any ink writing, leaving only a slight vinegar smell, which soon disappears.
4. Now for a very original method! It sounds unbelievable, but it works! Catch a couple of fat cockroaches and put them in a jar. Close the jar, but don’t let them suffocate. Let them sit for a couple of days—they’ll get hungry and thirsty. Next, take the document with the unwanted writing and, using a pointed matchstick, trace the outlines of the writing with liquid honey. Open the jar and place it upside down over the document so the cockroaches are trapped inside. The poor creatures, driven by hunger and thirst, will start licking up the honey trails. Their saliva contains a substance similar to acid, which dissolves the ink underneath. In the past, careless husbands used this method to remove marriage stamps from their passports. Just don’t get distracted, or the wild cockroaches might chew through the paper along with the honey!
5. A rather crude and unsophisticated method is to carefully scrape off the writing with a razor blade or sharp scalpel.