A patent print may require nothing more than photography followed by using a method for
lifting it. On the other hand, a partial print might require a well thought out strategy for
enhancing that which is visible and that which is not, the latent part of the print. If the evidence
is transportable, other techniques are available in the laboratory where the conditions are
controlled better. If the print is plastic, that is, impressed into a soft surface, the scene
scientist/investigator might decide to cast it using a silicone-based material. The resulting cast
can be enhanced in the laboratory. The above foregoing was purposely broad as a way to
emphasize that the print types that populate scenes can unleash a cascade of developmental
choices, many of which can be confusing to a student or a novice investigator.
Career crime scene investigators have their personal routines from developing fingerprints. One
investigator has written that photography of patent and plastic prints is sufficient to capture the
detail necessary to make comparisons,