NCJ Number
229071
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 59 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2009 Pages: 654-678
Date Published
December 2009
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study compared two formulations of fingerprint development for effectiveness.
Abstract
This study investigated the modification of a 1,2 indandione-zinc (Ind-Zn) formulation for developing fluorescent fingerprints and compared the modified formulation to 1, 8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO). Results indicated that DFO developed higher quality fingerprints across the range of paper substrates studied. On fresher fingerprints, the fluorescence intensity was also higher for fingerprints developed using DFO, but appeared to drop off as the age of the fingerprints increased. In terms of technique effectiveness, the number of high-quality fingerprints developed was the primary measure, with fluorescence intensity having a secondary impact on the ease with which developed fingerprints could be imaged and captured. However, there are indications that Ind-Zn may give better results than DFO on brown papers and other lower grade papers such as newspapers and magazines. Fingerprints deposited on these substrates gave more variable results because of the effects that surface printing has on the quality and fluorescence intensity. Table, figures, and references