Consistency and reproducibility in fingermark deposition

A review of the available literature and previous research has suggested that there are several factors
associated with the deposition of friction ridge skin marks that can affect the quality of the resultant
marks, including the quantity of force applied, the angle of friction ridge and surface contact and the
duration of friction ridge and surface contact. A device referred to as a fingerprint sampler was designed
and constructed to facilitate the deposition of fingermarks for research projects. Fingermarks were
deposited with and without the fingerprint sampler and examined for evidence of distortion. The quality
of the marks was also assessed. The results of this study suggested that the fingerprint sampler deposited
fingermarks without distortion caused by some physical factors associated with deposition and that the
marks were of a statistically significantly higher quality than marks deposited without its use.