Detection pens are easy to use and require no training. A clerk at a cash register simply uses their counterfeit detector pen to put a small mark on the bill. If the bill is counterfeit and the paper is wood-based, the iodine in the pen solution will react with the starch and leave a dark brown or black mark. If the bill is authentic and the paper is fiber based, there won’t be any starch and the pen will not leave a mark.
Manufacturers of counterfeit detector pens sometimes add a biodegradable pastel coloring to the iodine solution in order for the user to easily see which bills they have already screened. This pastel coloring usually fades within a day or so.
A counterfeit detector pen costs about $5.00 and can be used to screen up to 3,000 bills. Counterfeit detector pens can be used for any thread based currency.