Patent Print
Definition
A visible fingerprint left in a coloured medium (blood, ink, paint, dust, grease). Photographed in situ; usually no chemical development needed.
- Visibility
- Visible without development
- Medium
- Blood, ink, paint, dust, or grease
- Processing
- Photographed in situ
- Category
- Fingerprint evidence
Common questions
Why is a patent print photographed before any other processing?+
Photographing in situ preserves the print's exact appearance and context before any handling, lifting, or chemical treatment risks smudging or degrading the visible ridge detail.
Can a patent print still require enhancement?+
Yes. Faint or low-contrast patent prints in media like grease or dust can benefit from alternate light sources or contrast-enhancing photography, even though no chemical development is needed.
Related terms
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- AFIS / NAFIS
- Automated Fingerprint Identification System. NAFIS is the NCRB-operated national instance running on the Idemia Morpho engine, integrated with CCTNS under ICJS.
- Cyanoacrylate Fuming
- A fingerprint development technique in which ethyl cyanoacrylate vapour polymerises onto eccrine sweat residue on a latent print, producing a stable, white...
- Latent Print
- An invisible or barely visible impression of friction ridge skin deposited on a surface by eccrine sweat and sebum, requiring a development...
- Minutiae
- Level 2 ridge characteristics (ridge endings, bifurcations, dots, islands, lakes, spurs, crossovers). The primary individuating features used by AFIS algorithms and human...
- Ninhydrin
- A chemical reagent (2,2-dihydroxyindane-1,3-dione) that reacts with alpha-amino acids in latent print residue to produce a purple-blue compound (Ruhemann's Purple); the primary...
- Plastic Print
- A three-dimensional impression in a soft material such as putty, soap, candle wax, wet paint or chocolate. Recorded by photography and silicone...