Magnetic Flake Powders for Fingerprint Development

Abstract

Abstract Different types of fine magnetic flake powders, which could be applied to latent fingerprints using a standard magnetic applicator, were produced with the aim of identifying product ranges suitable for bright fingerprint development on dark surfaces. Impressive bright print qualities were achieved with the smooth-surfaced flake manufactured by milling of spherical carbonyl iron and austenitic stainless steel powders. Compared with the results obtained for commercial aluminum fingerprint powders, these new magnetic flake products proved almost equivalent for print development on smooth surfaces and superior for print detection on rough surfaces.