D.F.O.

•         Used on dry porous documents and unfinished wood

•         Reacts with amino acids and eccrine present in latent print residue

•         Used prior to Ninhydrin

•         Photograph with orange filter

•         Regarded as capable of developing more ridge detail than Ninhydrin

•         A fluorescence of the prints is obtained after baking the item in an oven at 100 degrees C, then viewing under an ALS (alternate light source) or laser

1,2 Idanedione

•         Used on dry porous items or unfinished wood

•         Reacts to amino acids and eccrine present in latent print residue.

•         Photograph with orange or red filter

•         Ridge detail developed will fluoresce yellow

•         Use post-treatment of Zinc chloride to improve the fluorescence of the ridge detail

•         Cooling with liquid nitrogen also produces superior fluorescence of ridge details

•         View under an ALS or laser

Ninhydrin

•         Used on dry porous items especially paper and cardboard and unfinished wood

•         Can also be used to enhance prints in blood

•         Applied by dipping brushing or spraying

•         Reacts to amino acids and proteins present in latent print residue

•         Ridge details are stained a purple color

•         Heat is used to obtain catalyzed dyed complex

•         View under an ALS or laser

Iodine Fuming

•         Used on porous and non-porous surfaces and unfinished wooden surfaces

•         Reacts with fatty and oily to visualize friction ridge detail

•         This is a non-destructive technique

•         Maximum yellow-brown detail is developed upon exposure to iodine fumes

•         The developed ridge detail disappears quickly so it is necessary to take photographs quickly

5-MTN

•         Used on porous surfaces, especially paper and cardboard

•         Reacts with amino acids to develop friction ridge detail

•         Similar to Ninhydrin but develops a stronger purple than Ninhydrin

•         Can be post-treated with Zinc chloride to make them more fluorescent

•         Viewed under an ALS or laser

Physical Developer

•         Used on porous surfaces especially paper and currency

•         Effective on wet items

•         Sensitive to sebaceous components

•         Reacts with components of friction ridge secretions, fatty or oily contaminants and lipids 

•         This is a multi-solution, multi-step process

•         Can be used as a follow-up to Ninhydrin cases

Zinc Chloride

•         Used on porous surfaces

•         Photograph with red or orange filter

•         Can be used after Ninhydrin, 1,2-Indandione and 5-MTN to enhance prints

•         Zinc chloride treated Ninhydrin ridge detail is color-shifted to an orange color, and Zinc chloride treated 5-MTN ridge detail is color-shifted to a reddish-purple color

•         View under an ALS or laser

Cyanoacrylate Ester

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         An item for processing is placed within an enclosed chamber

•         Fumes from the active ingredient of cyanoacrylate ester polymerizes on the components of the impression's residue creating a white impression

•         Use of post-cyanoacrylate dye stains or powders may improve the visualization of the developed detail

•         View under an ALS or laser

Gentian Violet

•         Used on non-porous surfaces, especially the adhesive side of tapes

•         May be applied to surfaces that are contaminated with oils and grease

•         Sensitive to Epithelial skin cells, Sebaceous lipids & Proteins

•         Dye staining process using a water-based working solution

•         Evidence is repeatedly stained and rinsed until optimum development occurs

•         View under an ALS or laser

Small Particle Reagent

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Effective on wet surfaces

•         Sensitive to Sebaceous lipids & fatty components

•         View under an ALS or laser

M.B.D. Dye

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         A fluorescent dye-stain used to enhance cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints

•         A fluorescent light source is used to view prints (ALS or laser)

•         Use orange filter to photograph

Basic Yellow 40

•         Used on non-porous substances

•         Can be used post-cyanoacrylate

•         Use a yellow filter to photograph

•         Use an ALS or laser to view prints

Silver Nitrate

•         Used on porous surfaces (wood) that have not been wet

•         Reacts with chlorides and salt components

•         Process works by having sunlight develop the impression detail treated with the working solution

•         Background staining is a problem, thus the technique is not in wide use

•         View under an ALS or laser

•         Can use alcohol-based silver nitrate for waxy surfaces

Liqui-Drox

•         Used on non-porous surfaces and dark colored tapes, on both adhesive and non-adhesive sides

•         Use a yellow filter to photograph

•         Post-cyanoacrylate process involving brushing the reagent unto tape and rinsing

•         View the result under long-wave ultra-violet light

Liqui-Nox

•         Used on non-porous surfaces and adhesive tape

•         A laboratory glassware soap (detergent) that is used to create a soap/powder foam that is painted unto surface

•         View under an ALS or laser

Sticky-Side Powder

•         Used on non-porous surfaces and adhesive tape

•         Can be used post-cyanoacrylate

•         Considered to be a more economical alternative to other adhesive-tape processing methods

R.A.Y.

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use a red or orange filter to photograph

•         Can be used post-cyanoacrylate

•         Must be viewed under an ALS or laser

Ardrox

•         Use on non-porous surfaces

•         Fluorescent dye-stain used to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         Photograph using a yellow filter

•         View under an ALS or laser

M.R.M. 10

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use an orange filter to photograph

•         Fluorescent dye-stain used to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         View under an ALS or laser

Rhodamine 6G

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use an orange filter to photograph

•         Fluorescent dye-stain used to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         View under an ALS or laser

Safranin O

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use an orange filter to photograph

•         Fluorescent dye-stain used to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         View under an ALS or laser

Nile Red

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use an orange filter to photograph

•         Fluorescent dye-stain to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         View under an ALS or laser

Thenoyl Europium Chelate

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use an red filter to photograph

•         Fluorescent dye-stain used to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         View under an ALS or laser

•         T.E.C. produces a brighter fluorescence of ridge detail with less interfering background luminescence than other dye stains such as Rhodamine 6G and Ardrox

R.A.M

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Use an orange filter to photograph

•         Fluorescent dye-stain used to make cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints more visible

•         View under an ALS or laser

Sudan Black

•         Used on wet, non-porous and grease-contaminated surfaces

•         Black dye that stains fats, oils, sebaceous components and contaminants of friction ridge residue

•         Less sensitive than other wet item techniques in use

•         Must be viewed under an ALS or laser

Gun Bluing

•         Used on non-porous surfaces and brass cartridge cases (metal surfaces)

•         Gun bluing contains cupric salt, selenious acid and an acid

•         Oxidation and reduction reaction occur

•         The reagent etches the cartridge's metal surface not protected by sebaceous-containing latent print residue and deposits a dark-colored Cu-Se coating to reveal friction ridge detail

•         Cartridges should be first briefly fumed with cyanoacrylate ester, then immersed into the gun bluing solution

•         A water bath stops the chemical reaction

Acidified Hydrogen Peroxide

•         Used on non-porous surfaces and brass cartridge cases

•         Acidified Hydrogen peroxide is used to clean lead from bullets and has been found to remove excess gun bluing from cartridges

•         This reagent can also be used by itself to reveal friction ridge detail with less chance of over-development as compared to gun bluing

•         The reagent etches the cartridge's metal surface not protected by sebaceous-containing latent print residue

•         A water bath stops the chemical reaction

A.B.T.S.

•         Used on porous surfaces and blood-stained surfaces

•         Sensitive to blood proteins

•         ABTS undergoes an oxidation reaction with the to produce a green colored product in the presence of hydrogen peroxide

•         Development does not interfere with DAB processing

•         ABTS results are equivalent to DAB on paper items

•         Can be used after Ninhydrin

•         Must be viewed under an ALS or laser

Amido Black (Water)

•         Used on blood-stained non-porous surfaces, especially plastic

•         Sensitive to blood proteins

•         A dye staining process used to enhance the detail in faint bloody impressions

•         The blood impressions are to be first "fixed" prior to the application of the dye

•         View under an ALS or laser

Amido Black (Methanol)

•         Used on blood-stained non-porous surfaces

•         A dye staining process, followed by rinse procedures

•         Used to enhance detail in faint bloody impressions

•         Bloody impressions should be 'dried' prior to staining with this reagent

•         Must be viewed under an ALS or laser

Crowle’s Double Stain

•         Used on non-porous surfaces for blood enhancement

•         A blue protein-stain reagent used to enhance bloody impressions that are visible and to develop latent prints

•         The technique consists of a developer solution and a rinse solution

•         Water is used as a final rinse

•         View under an ALS or laser

Leucocrystal Violet

•         Used on porous and non-porous blood-stained surfaces

•         Quick and uncomplicated method to enhance blood through the catalytic oxidation of the dye, while fixing and enhancing the blood impression

•         Other blood enhancement techniques such as Amido Black may be applied after this technique

•         Must be viewed under an ALS or laser

Coomassie Blue

•         Used on porous and non-porous blood-stained surfaces

•         A dye staining process, followed by a rinse procedure used to enhance detail in faint bloody impressions

•         "Fixing" of bloody impressions is not necessarily required prior to staining

•         Contrast achieved with this reagent is not as strong as Amido Black due to the lighter color of the dye stain, and the development of the surfaces' background

•         View under an ALS or laser

D.A.B.

•         Used on blood-stained porous and non-porous surfaces

•         DAB undergoes an oxidation reaction which produces the dark brown color

•         May be used in conjunction with Amido Black and ABTS and other blood enhancement colored protein stains may be used after D.A.B.

•          Good results achieved on some paper items. Ninhydrin has no effect on the D.A.B. process

•         Cyanoacrylate fuming is detrimental to D.A.B. processing.

•         Must be viewed under an ALS or laser

Ultra-Violet Lamp

•         Used on all surfaces (porous or non-porous)

•         Non-destructive technique

•         Detail is visualized either by turning darker upon absorbing ultra-violet light or by luminescent upon emitting ultra-violet light

•         Yellow or ultra-violet light blocking filters are used during photography

Basic Red 28

•         Used on non-porous surfaces

•         Must be photographed using an orange filter

•         A fluorescent dye-stain used to enhance cyanoacrylate-developed latent prints

•         A forensic light (ALS or laser) source is needed to view prints

Nickel Nitrate

•         Used on porous surfaces

•         Applied as post-Ninhydrin treatment in order to improve the contrast of the ridge detail for viewing and photography

•         Two methods may be applied: the background may be made to fluoresce or the treated ridge detail may be made to absorb green-colored light for viewing

Electrostatic Lifting

•         Used on dry porous and non-porous surfaces

•         Can be used for impressions in dust

•         Non-destructive technique

•         An electric field is developed on a sheet of lifting film which attracts dust particles to the film

•         Dust impressions not visible to the naked eye are often recovered with this device

Visual Examination

•         Used on all surfaces (porous and non-porous)

•         Non-destructive technique

•         Used to note the presence of visible detail

•         Several natural and artificial sources and angles of light may be utilized in order to best visualize any detail that is present

Fluorescent Light

•         Used on all surfaces (porous and non-porous)

•         Non-destructive technique

•         Use a forensic light source (ALS or laser) to note the presence of visible detail

•         Improved viewing of the ridge detail is accomplished either by rendering the ridge detail darker upon viewing in an absorption mode or through fluorescence of the ridge detail which is either rendered luminescent when exposed to the light or made fluorescent by the addition of chemicals

•         Orange, Red or Yellow viewing barrier filters (viewing goggles) are used for viewing or during photography of the detail