Author Zero phase asked a question in the section Photo processing and printing

Hello) can the EXPERTS tell you how to copy as much information as possible from a faded receipt, and how to extract it? in what? Photoshop? and got the best answer

Answer from Cat meow[guru]
The first place you can make a mistake is photography. Find the best light to evenly illuminate the check, then take a photo.
Secondly, open the image in Photoshop, crop it so as to remove everything that is not related to the receipt.
Thirdly, add a “curves” layer effect. Look at the picture below. Pay attention to the line that intersects the square diagonally. Also pay attention to the slides inside the square.
Your task is to raise the contrast and turn the faded color black.
Here is the slide - your information is in the photo. Where there is no furnace, there is no information. There is a ruler under the slide. Your task is to pull the black marker to the beginning of the slide, and the white one to the end. Then the contrast will increase.
Next, put a point (node) on the straight line and move it to find the optimal picture.
It is important that the image of the receipt is evenly illuminated, like a scan. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to adequately draw out something using curves. Try it, experiment, good luck :)
Cat meow
Guru
(3637)
I don't have a scanner, I don't know. As a photographer, it’s easier for me to set up a table lamp and use my phone or DSLR to take a photo of the receipt.

Answer from Character[guru]
no way

Answer from Sanek841[guru]
Well, play with adjustment layers in Photoshop: brightness/contrast, curves, levels

Answer from Weight[guru]
to help the forensic scientist, ultraviolet, infrared radiation and oblique ray photography, for starters, you can simply try scanning with good resolution

Answer from Yovetlana Gladysheva[guru]
If you just illuminate it from below (with cold light) and try to see it. You can even take a photo of the illuminated one, and then experiment with photography.
P.S.: In ultraviolet light, faded text is actually visible much better.

Answer from Vladimir -[guru]
If it faded completely, then nothing.
And not completely - with your own eyes and a magnifying glass.

Answer from Fedor Tyumentsev[active]
scan it, set the resolution higher, for example 1200, it is better to process it in Corel or Adobe Illustrator,
but, you must understand that a check restored in any graphic editor will not have legal force

Answer from Marana_tha[guru]
With the help of gentle heating, the inscription is restored. The main thing is not to exceed the temperature, otherwise it will turn black.

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Hello) tell the EXPERTS how to copy information as much as possible from a faded check, and how to extract it? in what? Photoshop?

Keeping receipts from expensive purchases or services is a very useful habit. She can help you defend your rights or even avoid punishment in court. But it often happens that the inscriptions on this small document fade.

To prevent important evidence from turning into a stack of blank paper, you should listen to the following tips.

Why does the paint on the receipt fade?

The first thought that comes to mind when you look at the now empty check paper is a worldwide conspiracy. It seems that stores specifically use disappearing paint so that later a person will not have the opportunity to present his claims. This version has a right to be, but there is a logical and objective explanation.

Majority cash registers works without ink. For printing, special thermal paper is used, which reacts to heat and on which the desired text appears.

This is very convenient for store employees, as there is no need to fuss with ink and cartridges. But this technology brings many problems to the buyer. After just a few months, the paper loses its properties and becomes completely white or black.

How to prevent it?

It is difficult, but possible, to save checks from fading. First of all, you need to adhere to the correct storage conditions for thermal paper.

The ideal place for receipts would be a closed box or box where sunlight does not penetrate. Humidity should be up to 60%, and the temperature should not exceed 20 degrees.

It should be noted that it is impossible to allow two receipts to come into contact. It is better to allocate a separate file or envelope for each check.

But even such favorable conditions do not guarantee that the inscriptions will be preserved for a year or more.

To protect yourself, it is better to make a copy of the receipt. This is especially important if the document concerns large amounts or a serious matter. True, not all stores and institutions trust copies, so it should be certified.

This can be done at a notary or directly at the checkout using a stamp and the signature “Copy is correct.”

Is it possible to restore a check?

All these tips should be taken into account for future purchases, but they will not save already faded paper. To do this, there are other ways to “resurrect” a check.

The easiest way to restore the inscriptions is to hold the check over the fire of a gas stove. You must be very careful not to burn the document or start a fire. A safer way is to heat with an iron. You should use gauze or a simple cloth and set the temperature to the minimum.

A solution of salt and soda in equal proportions will also help. Gently wipe the paper with this mixture.

You shouldn’t throw away your receipt even after a little shopping in the supermarket. But also store great amount There is no point in paperwork, so you should regularly audit your inventory.

Check last year's expense reports. Are the inscriptions on all cash receipts legible? Perhaps you suffered the same fate as our reader - cash receipts turned into blank pieces of paper. But not everything is as hopeless as it seems.

Just don't panic!

- I'm shocked! – my friend Irina Solnechnaya immediately told me on the phone, Chief Accountant one of the capital's companies. Irina is not an alarmist, so I tried to calmly find out what, in fact, was the matter.

“We have a tax audit soon, we are on schedule,” Irina began her story. – On this occasion, I once again decided to look at the availability of primary documents and the correctness of the preparation of expense reports. And, oh horror! In many advance reports I found not just poorly readable cash receipts, but ordinary white pieces of paper.

The first thought was to make new checks in the image and likeness of the disappeared ones. I even read about special programs and found experts in this field.

- Forgery of documents is punishable...

“Yes, I know, I’m not little,” Irina shrugged it off. – Imprisonment for up to two years. And the use of a knowingly forged document is punishable by arrest for a period of three to six months. Criminal Code, Article 327. But the checks are real, although they are pretty faded!

– Draw up a reconciliation report with the supplier for amounts not visible on the receipt.

– I’ll probably do the same with wholesalers. Moreover, they usually also issue a receipt to the parishioner.

But I have no idea what to do with retail. It’s okay if sales receipts are handwritten or printed. There is at least some supporting document here. But what should you do if the sales receipt is printed on thermal paper, which is the problem with many supermarkets? Or is there no merchandise at all, as, for example, when buying gasoline?

– Well, for the future I can say that you can make photocopies of checks and then have them certified by a notary: from three to five rubles per check. Wholesale may be cheaper. Or directly from the supplier. You just need to calculate what will be less expensive - notary services or transportation costs.

- A photocopy is a good thing. Our secretary is now hard at work taking copies of all the checks. Only we decided to get off with little blood. We certify copies with our seal and signatures.

– Keep in mind that you also need to issue an order indicating the reason why you are redoing the primary. Well, then certify the copies.

Instead of a check -blank paper

“The problem is that not all receipts can be photocopied,” my friend continued. – Some have faded so much that the original text cannot be easily deciphered. You can still guess the amount from the advance report. And the supplier and his details - alas!

- Don't be so upset. Maybe we can still come to an agreement with the tax authorities. They are people too! Moreover, if you are lucky, they will be satisfied with this and will not dig deeper.

“Everything would be fine,” Irina sighed, “but the amount turns out to be very decent for our company.” And it’s such a shame! It would be fine for your mistakes or negligence. And here...

– Maybe you didn’t comply with the conditions for storing checks?

- Yes, it looks like they weren’t soaked in alcohol, they weren’t put under ultraviolet light, all the checks were filed in folders along with expense reports. And who will now figure out who is right and who is wrong?

– You know, technologies that make it possible to restore almost any image have existed for quite a long time (see the reference “The Father of Forensic Photography”). And I think that science does not stand still. So you can simply restore the faded text.

– The director is unlikely to go broke on the examination, no matter how much it costs. Most likely he will want to wait for the final decision of the tax authorities. And then he will decide whether the game is worth the candle.

Expertise at the expense of tax authorities

“It’s interesting, if the tax authorities fine us for the lack of primary documents, and even recalculate taxes, and the company challenges their decision in court, then at whose expense will the examination be carried out?” – Irina asked.

With this question, we turned to the expert of the berator “A check has come to you” Anton Luzhnov. “The amount required for the examination is deposited into the deposit account by the party to the court case who will insist on it. If the initiative comes from both parties, then the costs will be divided equally.

The examination, appointed on the initiative of the arbitration court, is carried out at the expense of the federal budget. Therefore, practice shows that the courts are in no hurry to do this on their own initiative. Typically, in such a situation, judges indicate that the examination is appointed at the initiative of one party or at the request of both parties, and accordingly, they distribute the costs of paying for the services of experts.

However, I emphasize that in the end, the costs of conducting the examination will be reimbursed by the one whose results will not be in favor of them. If the claim is partially satisfied, legal costs are divided between the parties to the case in proportion to the size of the satisfied claims.

And since the examination will clearly confirm the authenticity of the cash receipt, the court will have to oblige the tax authorities to reimburse you for the costs of it,” assured Anton Luzhnov.

Secrets to Cash Receipt Longevity

To ensure that the image from a cash receipt printed on thermal paper (it is thinner and whiter than usual, slightly translucent) does not disappear for the next five years, experts advise storing this important document in special conditions.

First of all, this is a temperature of 18–24 ° C and a relative air humidity of no more than 68 percent. Even the heat from a radiator will be enough to lose information. Never allow direct sunlight to shine on the check. You cannot store checks in a pile, facing each other.

It is also necessary to avoid getting various chemicals, alcohols, and other solvents on the paper. Checks are “afraid” of liquid-based glue. When preparing expense reports, use a glue stick, or better yet, a stapler. And never keep checks under pressure.

The Father of Forensic Photography

The founder of the method of restoring extinct texts is the Russian scientist Evgeniy Burinsky. He first used this method to restore 13th-century inscriptions on pieces of leather found during excavations in the Moscow Kremlin.

Using photographic plates for his work, Burinsky produced several identical black-and-white negatives from each document. Then, by removing the emulsion layers from the negatives and stacking them together on top of each other, he produced a higher-contrast negative image. Next, I made a kind of slides from each negative and put them on top of each other. By consistently increasing the contrast of the negatives, Burinsky obtained photographs in which invisible and half-erased letters became legible. Russian Academy Sciences in 1898 awarded Burinsky the Lomonosov Prize “For a research method equal to the value of a microscope.”

Svetlana BLINOVA

What are checks needed for?

It’s time to ask the question: why keep a pile of unnecessary papers at all? In fact, often the receipt turns out to be needed precisely after it has already been thrown away.

Cases in which a check may be needed:

1. Return of goods under warranty. When purchasing expensive equipment or furniture, the buyer is given a guarantee that is valid for several years. It often turns out that an item has become damaged and needs to be returned or exchanged, and the receipt, after being stored for a long time, has already lost not only its presentable appearance, but also its information. In this case, it will be very unpleasant for the buyer, since nothing can be done with the broken product in the absence of evidence of its purchase.
2. Receiving a discount in the store. Some stores have bonuses that you can get when you accumulate purchase receipts. For example, the buyer presents checks for a certain amount, and the seller gives him a discount card.
3. Housekeeping. Many families accumulate monthly receipts and at the end count the amount spent on certain products. These calculations are a necessary part of the family economy, because without this it is impossible to calculate future prospects.
4. Proof of payment for services. When paying for training or housing and communal services, any problems may arise that can only be resolved by submitting a receipt for the actual payment. As a rule, these amounts are quite large, so it would be sad to lose money due to bad check paper and ink.

Bottom line

Nowadays everything is based on money, and documents related to it are the most important in people's lives. That is why it is necessary to treat them with care, because in the most unexpected situation, a check may be needed to obtain monetary benefits.

1. I think the problem is familiar firsthand. You bought something big. The seller generously measured out five, ten, or even twenty years of warranty... And? And take the check in a year and fade away. We don't read.

Look, experiments were carried out on Habré:
"25 years of warranty. Cool, right? There is one problem. You have to keep the receipt. The test, again, is on your knowledge of physics. They print the receipt on a regular cash register thermal tape (I checked it on the spot). I have a lot of receipts in my office. We We photocopy them because after a year or two they completely fade.”

The law says:

“A retail purchase and sale agreement is considered concluded in the proper form from the moment the seller issues a cash receipt or sales receipt or other document confirming payment for the goods to the buyer.” (Article 493 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

“The buyer’s absence of the specified documents (including a check) does not deprive him of the opportunity to refer to witness testimony in support of the conclusion of the contract and its terms.” (ibid.)

“The sales receipts and invoices presented by V.A.A. for review by the judicial panel are not readable, therefore, cannot be considered as evidence in support of the expenses incurred by him for the execution of the above agreement.” (Appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan dated 06/05/2013 in case No. 33-5311/2013)

Otherwise the claim will be dropped at the filing stage:

“By the determination..., she (the Plaintiff) was asked to eliminate the shortcomings specified in the determination by May 7, 2015, namely: to submit documents confirming the fulfillment of obligations regarding payment under the retail purchase and sale agreement for a mobile phone.

In addition, the court indicated that documents confirming the circumstances on which the plaintiff bases his claims were not presented, copies of these documents for persons participating in the case, photocopies of documents attached to the application were not properly certified, the originals of the attached documents are missing (Article 71 of the Civil Procedure Code RF). Cash receipt for the amount<.......>We don’t read rubles.

P.’s application to OJSC VimpelCom for termination of the purchase and sale agreement, recovery of the cost of the mobile phone, penalties, fines, compensation for moral damage - return to the applicant". (Decision of the Tyumen Regional Court dated June 10, 2015 in case No. 33-3308/2015)

2. It’s good if you have other evidence besides the check. Usually, for expensive things there are always other documents - a contract of sale (purchase and sale agreement), an act of transfer of the goods to you, documents for delivery/installation, a note in the warranty card, etc. Then it’s simpler, the check is no longer so important.

3. Unfortunately, there are times when you only have a check in your hands. A textbook example is paying a loan through an ATM. IN Lately Some banks only accept this type of payment. It takes three days to get to a live operator, or there is a “barrier” commission for paying in cash at the cash desk.

4. What to do and why all this. Previously, notaries on the basis of Art. 77 and 78 "Fundamentals of Legislation Russian Federation on notaries" (as amended on July 13, 2015) refused to make notarized copies of checks.

As well as some other documents - for example, a copy of the original purchase and sale agreement for a motorcycle concluded by two “physicists”. I personally encountered it. Four notaries refused to certify.

However, as of February 1, 2014, the rules have changed. Art. 77 Fundamentals has been heavily rewritten. A Art. 78 was completely excluded. And now the notary will calmly certify copies of checks for you - if there is a readable original. So here you go good remedy from fading of checks - notarized copy.

Notes:

1. You can’t keep track of everything. And I learned about this trick quite by accident from a notary... during a corporate war. What kind of animal this is - maybe I’ll tell you someday.

2. Life is easier for legal professionals even without changes to the basics. There is a letter from the Ministry of Finance:

“At the same time, taking into account that in practice situations arise when, as a result of storage, the mastic of a cash receipt fades and the information reflected on it becomes invisible,
We consider it possible to confirm for profit tax purposes the actual costs incurred for the purchase of goods (work, services) in cash by photocopies of cash register receipts, certified by signature official and the seal of the organization with the original check attached." (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated 04/03/2007 N 03-03-06/1/209)

And there is some arbitrage practice in favor of legal experts:

“The fact that due to the passage of time the checks have faded and become unreadable has no legal significance, since the obligation to confirm expenses lies with the taxpayer, who must properly organize the storage of accounting documents.”

(Resolution of the Seventh Arbitration Court of Appeal dated March 18, 2013 in case No. A67-2842/2012. Something similar is in the Resolution of the Nineteenth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated December 28, 2012 in case No. A35-5357/2012)