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Production and Evaluation of a Dark Magnetic Flake Powder for Latent Fingerprint Development

NCJ Number
231265
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 60 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2010 Pages: 395-407
Author(s)
Kaushik Nag; Xiongwei Liu; Allan Scott; Grahame Sandling
Date Published
July 2010
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the development and effectiveness of a dark iron magnetic flake fingerprint powder.
Abstract
Highly reflective magnetic iron flakes are suitable for visualizing latent fingerprints on dark, textured surfaces. However, there is a need for a darker variety of this magnetic flake powder that would be suitable for obtaining good contrast on light background surfaces. A novel dark magnetic flake powder was therefore developed by vibration milling, and the powder was then evaluated for latent fingerprint development. This evaluation indicted that a darker variety of magnetic flake powder, obtained by dry milling with an optimum stearic acid, provided good-quality results for fingerprint development. Figures, tables, and references (Published Abstract)