 For more than 100 years, fingerprints have been recognized as a completely reliable form of positive identification of an individual. In that time, the techniques used to analyze and classify fingerprints have changed very little. With the arrival of the computer age, the immediacy of fingerprint usefulness has been dramatically impacted. This is due to accelerated methods of submission, storage, retrieval, and comparison of fingerprint data. Computers can search through millions of fingerprints in minutes to find possible matches with a newly submitted print. In the past, with a 10-print card, this process could take days and many work hours. Fingerprints are currently acquired by four means. Inked impressions. Inkless impressions made with chemicals. Live-scan prints made with computer scanners. And latent prints, which generally result from the deposit of body oils on items touched by the unidentified person. Regardless of how they are gathered, neither the unique characteristics of fingerprints nor the rapid retrieval of data are of any use without first having quality fingerprint impressions. The methods used for collecting inked impressions, inkless impressions, and live-scan prints are very similar. The purpose of this program is to give you a general understanding of the nature of fingerprints, and to demonstrate the collection methods used for these three types of impressions. We will not be discussing the collection of latent prints. If done correctly, these methods will help ensure quality fingerprint impressions. Fingerprints are the result of minute ridges and valleys found on the hands of every person. In the fingers and thumbs, these ridges form patterns of arches, loops, and whirls. In a loop pattern, the ridges enter from either side, recurve and pass out, or tend to pass out the same side they entered. In whirl patterns, the ridges are usually circular. And in an arch pattern, the ridges enter from one side, make a rise in the center, and exit generally on the opposite side. Each of the three fingerprint patterns have focal points, which are used for classification of the fingerprint. In a loop pattern, there are two focal points, the core, or the center of the loop, and the delta. The delta is the area of the pattern where there is a triangulation, or a dividing of the ridges. The delta and the area between the delta and the core must be completely and clearly recorded. A whirl pattern will help two or more deltas. For a whirl pattern to be classified, the print must clearly record all deltas and the areas between them. The arch pattern has no delta or core, but it too must be clearly recorded so that its individual characteristics can be readily distinguished. The fingerprint card has an upper area called the masthead, which you are to complete. It includes personal identifying information such as the person's date of birth, height, weight, and eye color. This information must be provided. Leaving out personal information may result in the card being returned to you. The person being fingerprinted should sign the card, and you as the technician should sign and date it within the designated boxes. In traditional paper fingerprint card submissions, the signatures must be present. There may be exceptions in live scan. A fingerprint technician should require a positive form of identification, something with a photograph is preferable. The lower portion of the card includes areas for rolled impressions and plane impressions. Rolled impressions are recorded individually in a normal upright position, centered in the appropriate spaces, starting with the right hand. The designations of thumb, index, middle, ring, and little fingers are indicated in the spaces. For rolled impressions, all available ridge detail is recorded by rolling the fingers nail to nail. Plane impressions are recorded by pressing the fingers of each hand in the spaces at the bottom of the card. They should be printed at about a 45 degree angle to the card. The thumbs are printed simultaneously in the appropriate spaces without rolling. Simultaneous impressions are used primarily to verify the proper sequence of the rolled impressions. When using the inked method, only printers ink is acceptable in taking fingerprints. All others are too light and do not dry quickly enough. Using the right amount of ink is of vital importance. Too little ink and the impression will be too light. Too much ink and the fine details run together making the print useless. If the ink is rolled evenly, each finger will be properly covered. No spot will be missed and none left with heavy blobs of ink. With the pour-long pad method, ink is actually retained in the pad. This eliminates the need for rolling ink. This method does compromise print quality and should be only used for very limited fingerprinting needs. The fingers to be printed must be thoroughly dry, clean and free of all grease and dirt. If they are moist, the ink will not adhere to the fingers. Wiping the individual's fingers clean with an alcohol swab and then drying them right before printing should give you enough time to prevent perspiration from being a problem. If a person's occupation has caused a wearing down or rough surface on the fingers, you may want to soften them up with a hand cream or lotion. Be sure to wash the lotion off before printing them. In many instances, when a person's ridges are worn, you may get legible fingerprints by using a small amount of ink on the inking plate. This is especially helpful with a person of advanced age. To begin printing, take the person's right hand at the base of the thumb. You will guide their thumb with your thumb and index finger. When fingerprinting, you need to take advantage of natural wrist movement. Starting with the hand placed in a slightly strained position and rotating it to a more natural position will finish the print where their hand can be more easily pulled up and away. This will help you to avoid making smudges or blurring the print. In the case of the thumb, the wrist will rotate so the thumb moves toward their body. When putting ink on the thumb, it should be rolled on the inking plate so that the entire fingerprint pattern area is evenly covered with ink. The ink should cover from one end of the nail to the other and from the crease of the first joint to the tip of the finger. Encourage the person being fingerprinted to relax. Tell them not to try to help you by exerting pressure. This way, you can gauge the amount of pressure needed. You may want to ask them to look at some distant object to distract them from what you are doing. Generally, the weight of the finger itself is all the pressure needed to clearly record a fingerprint. Move to the card and roll the print in the same manner. Use a relaxed and continuous motion. A test print will determine if the ink is being distributed evenly and how much pressure should be applied. If the test print is not acceptable, make the necessary changes and re-roll the thumb in the ink. Make the new print in the designated area of a new card. Next, the right index finger is placed in a slightly strained position like the thumb. Fingers will be rolled away from the person's body so the wrist is rotated in the opposite direction from the thumb roll. Remember to roll the finger from nail to nail and lift it up in a way to avoid dragging it across the impression. Each finger of the right hand should be printed in the appropriate space in the same manner as the index finger. Move down the fingers from index to middle finger to ring finger and then little finger. Be sure to ink and print the finger from one edge of the fingernail to the other and to lift the finger up and away from the card. After completing with the right hand, repeat the process with the left hand. You will not need to add more ink to the plate but since you should never roll two fingers in the same area you may have to re-roll the existing ink. Begin on the next line of the card with the thumb of the left hand and again work your way from finger to finger. Remember to use a relaxed continuous motion. If for some reason it becomes obvious that a rolled impression is not going to be acceptable you may not have to start over on a new card. If you have them you can use an adhesive retab to cover the original impression and then re-roll that finger in its proper space. You may retab no more than two impressions per fingerprint card. When you finish the right and left hand rolled impressions adjust the card for recording plane impressions. At this point you will almost certainly need to re-roll the existing ink on the plate but without adding more ink. Working with one hand at a time place the fingers together on the inking plate with firm even pressure to ensure uniform inking. Now press down the fingers in the appropriate space at the bottom of the fingerprint card. The fingers should be at approximately a 45 degree angle to the bottom of a card. Even pressure is again exerted to ensure uniform simultaneous printing. Be sure to lift the fingers cleanly up and away from the card to avoid smudging the impressions. Both thumbs are then inked and recorded at the same time in the appropriate spaces without rolling. Always record these thumb prints at the same time to assure that they are placed in the proper spaces. It's pretty big bandage there. Occasionally you may encounter a person whose hand is temporarily unfit for printing. This may be due to a condition such as severe cuts, blistering, or burns. The injured finger should not be printed until the injury has healed. However, until that finger is printed the card is unacceptable for submission and classification. It's going to be impossible for us to fingerprint that one finger and without getting all ten fingers fingerprinted we're going to have to have you to come back when that finger is healed since it was a pretty deep cut and it just happened recently. Trained fingerprint examiners are taught how to distinguish between permanent scars and temporary injuries. If you encounter an obvious permanent scar, go ahead and complete the printing process. If the person you are fingerprinting has lost only the tip of one or more fingers you will print the remaining portion of the finger and make a notation in the appropriate block. The notation must indicate A, M, P for amputated not just missing. If the finger has been amputated past the crease of the first knuckle do not print the stub, write A, M, P in the appropriate space. If the person was born missing a finger or fingers the notation in the block must say missing at birth or M, A, B. Some people cannot be readily fingerprinted due to a long-term medical condition affecting their fingers. If this is the case you may have to use specialized equipment including a fingerprinting spoon and spatula. To print a finger using the spoon you will use one of the adhesive retabs shown earlier that was used for correcting errors. After placing the retab into the spoon, roll a thin layer of ink onto the spatula. Now roll the spatula around the surface of the finger to be printed. When you take the print it is not necessary to roll the finger because the curved shape of the spoon will ensure that the retab contacts all necessary rich surfaces. If a long-term medical condition means you have to use the spoon and spatula and you do not have adhesive retabs you can cut out one or more spaces from a blank card and use them like retabs. Feed the cutout card through the spoon printing the fingers in proper order. Affix the newly acquired prints over the appropriate spaces on the card. The hand manipulation techniques for acquiring inkless fingerprint impressions using chemicals are the same as with inked fingerprints. Initially the prints will show up very faintly but when they are processed by the fingerprinting device they will be black and permanent. There are several accepted devices on the market and their operation may vary slightly from device to device. Follow the manufacturer's instructions regarding proper operation but otherwise use the techniques demonstrated for inked prints. The latest method of acquiring fingerprint impressions is the use of a live scan device and computers. This method does not require ink or chemicals to forge you the ability to preview the impressions and delete unacceptable prints. Like inkless prints the hand manipulation techniques for live scan prints are generally the same as with ink prints and the prints are made in the same order. Also like inkless prints live scan devices vary so be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions. Beginning in 1999 when integrated into a fingerprint card submission network the live scan method will also allow for automated paperless submission of 10 prints. This will greatly decrease the amount of time necessary for processing. Eventually nearly all 10 print submissions will be made in a paperless environment. No matter how the prints are acquired by live scan, inkless or inked the prints are only useful if they are properly recorded. Your careful attention to proper techniques and conscientious efforts to acquire quality impressions will assure that the 10 print cards you submit are quickly and efficiently processed.