Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper

Latent fingerprints deposited on commercial photocopy paper were treated using various preparations of silver-based physical developer and the results from each were compared to those obtained with the standard formulation used by the Australian Federal Police. Five redox stock solutions were prepar...

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Main Authors: Sauzier, Georgina, Frick, Amanda, Lewis, Simon
Format: Journal Article
Published: International Association for Identification 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21342
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author Sauzier, Georgina
Frick, Amanda
Lewis, Simon
author_facet Sauzier, Georgina
Frick, Amanda
Lewis, Simon
author_sort Sauzier, Georgina
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Latent fingerprints deposited on commercial photocopy paper were treated using various preparations of silver-based physical developer and the results from each were compared to those obtained with the standard formulation used by the Australian Federal Police. Five redox stock solutions were prepared with altered orders of reagent addition, and a further solution prepared with exchanged iron concentrations, to test the robustness of the method. Three redox solutions were prepared with specific reagents omitted to determine the significance of the role played by each in development. One redox solution was prepared using Tween 20 as the non-ionic surfactant to assess its suitability as a replacement for Synperonic N. An acid prewash was also prepared using malic acid as an alternative to maleic acid. Results showed the method to be robust to alterations in reagent addition, but not to significant concentration changes. The presence of all components was found to be desirable for distinguishable development of fingerprint detail. It was additionally found that Tween 20 gave at least equal performance to Synperonic N on recently deposited fingerprints. Finally, the use of malic acid gave equivalent fingerprint development but higher background in comparison to maleic acid.
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publishDate 2013
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-213422017-03-08T13:31:45Z Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper Sauzier, Georgina Frick, Amanda Lewis, Simon Latent fingerprints deposited on commercial photocopy paper were treated using various preparations of silver-based physical developer and the results from each were compared to those obtained with the standard formulation used by the Australian Federal Police. Five redox stock solutions were prepared with altered orders of reagent addition, and a further solution prepared with exchanged iron concentrations, to test the robustness of the method. Three redox solutions were prepared with specific reagents omitted to determine the significance of the role played by each in development. One redox solution was prepared using Tween 20 as the non-ionic surfactant to assess its suitability as a replacement for Synperonic N. An acid prewash was also prepared using malic acid as an alternative to maleic acid. Results showed the method to be robust to alterations in reagent addition, but not to significant concentration changes. The presence of all components was found to be desirable for distinguishable development of fingerprint detail. It was additionally found that Tween 20 gave at least equal performance to Synperonic N on recently deposited fingerprints. Finally, the use of malic acid gave equivalent fingerprint development but higher background in comparison to maleic acid. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21342 International Association for Identification fulltext
spellingShingle Sauzier, Georgina
Frick, Amanda
Lewis, Simon
Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
title Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
title_full Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
title_fullStr Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
title_full_unstemmed Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
title_short Investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
title_sort investigation into the performance of physical developer formulations for visualizing latent fingerprints on paper
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21342