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Patent Print

Definition

A visible fingerprint left in a coloured medium (blood, ink, paint, dust, grease). Photographed in situ; usually no chemical development 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...

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