1 Plastic prints
2 Visible prints also called patent prints and
3 Latent prints
Various terms used by forensic practitioners and by Fingerprint experts to fingerprints located at a crime scene as chance prints, crime scene prints, latent prints , finger mark, crime scene mark etc.
1) Plastic fingerprints - Plastic fingerprints are made by pressing fingers in fresh paint, soap, clay,
putty, tar , wax and adhesives. They are three dimensional. Like visible fingerprints, they are seen by
human eye and do not need any additional processing for their visibility. They can be photographed
directly , without using any powder or chemicals , using side or oblique lighting.
2) Visible fingerprints - visible prints are left by fingers covered with some colored material such as
paint,blood,ink,tar or dirt. Many of these prints are visible to the unaided eye. These prints usually
need no development ( by powder method and by chemical method) and can be photographed directly.
3) Latent fingerprints - The word latent means hidden or unseen or apparent. They are made on the surface when the fingers touch an object (such as a table or window glass) and certain substances present in the sweat are transferred from the ridges to that surface. By using powder or chemical techniques these latent fingerprints become visible to the person.
Fingerprints are developed by physical and chemical methods. Physical method include powder
method. Fingerprint powders generally has a pigment and a binder . When brushed on a surface , the
powder clings to the moist and oily residue left by the fingerprints.
Pigment provides the contrast while the binder helps the powder to adhere on the print. Pigments are
colloidal carbon particles or flakes of metals including aluminium, zinc and copper whereas binders are
gumarabic , rosin , iron powders , lycopodium .
After development they should be photographed by a trained photographer then the object bearing the
fingerprint should be signed by the expert with date. If the articles having the fingerprint are portable
then they must be dispatched to the Finger Print Bureau . you can not found all types of fingerprints
with naked eyes . latent fingerprints also. known as chance prints are developed by physical and
chemical methods.
