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hankronDifferent types of ink disolve under different types of chemicals. For example, some inks can be disolved with certain types of around the house rubbing alcohol.
In forensic cases, they often disolve an ink in order to separate its substances. When they have identified substances, the can sometimes deduce the age, type and even brand of ink. They sometimes are able to make a judgement about how long the ink has been on the paper, by how long it takes to disolve.
I'm sure a number of genuine cards have been damaged by the accidental exposure to normal household or workshop substances.
One of the worries of beginning card soakers (removing cards from albums via water), is that the images might suddenly dissapear. The cardstock may be warped or whatever from the water, and if you soak it for an hour the paper with the ink on it may be damaged or removed. But, as noted, lithographic ink only disolves under the lengthy exposure of specific harsh substances, and won't disolve under water.