Two procedures for dating ballpoint inks are considered that use gas chromatography (a combination of the technique for determining the extent of extraction of ink volatile components and of the accelerated ageing technique) and densitometric thin-layer chromatography (separation of ink components and evaluation of the resulting chromatograms using a specially developed mass-independent technique that is also a very effective tool for the comparative TLC examination of similarly coloured inks, paints, fibres and other materials of forensic interest). The procedures have been used in many real case situations and the results of the examinations were accepted as conclusive evidence by courts of law.