MODULE 5

REAL OR TRUE FINGERPRINT IMPRESSIONS AND DATA BASE MAKING

A. What are real Impressions?

Impressions of the finger bulbs with the use of the fingerprint ink on the surface
of the paper through any coloring materials , which will produce visibility.
B. Two Methods of producing impressions:
1. Rolled Impressions- requires that the thumb be rolled away from the center
of the subject’s body.
2. Plain impressions- requires that the fingers be taken or printed
simultaneously, then the thumbs without rolling.

Rolled Impression

Plain Impression
Equipment:
 a. Fingerprint Ink Roller (6” long x2” in diameter)
b. Fingerprint ink
c. Cardholder and table(38” to 40” high)
d. Glass Slab or inking plate
e. Slab and Roller Cleaner
f. Hand cleaning materials(alcohol, petroleum, cloth and cotton)

Inking Plate or glass slab & rubber roller

Fingerprint Ink
Fingerprint card
 Fingerprint card and holder

C. Methods of recording real impressions

1. Slab and Roller Methods- placing ink on the slab and spreading it evenly
2. Porelon Pad Method use inking pad
3. Print Matic Method- the roller itself bears the ink then rolled over the slab

D. Rules to observe in taking legible F/Ps

1. Cleanliness of equipment/washing hands before fingerprinting
2. The right kind and correct amount of ink
3. Proper distribution of ink on the glass slab
4. The subject’s hands must be relaxed
5. Proper distance of the subject from the glass slab/proper alignment
6. Even pressure to be applied
7. The fingers must be rolled from one side to the other
8. The inking and printing must reach the first joint of the finger
9. The thumb must be rolled towards the body and the fingers away from the
subject’s body
10. The subject’s fingers must be controlled to prevent twisting
11. Speed of the rolling finger
12. Check up after fingerprint printed- check prints if appropriately printed of not
accordance with the following guidelines:
a. If printing column are incorrect
b. Rolling condition, sufficient or not
 c. Printing condition, think or thin
d. Unevenness? Irregularity? Aberration ?
e. No oversight, no mistake on note/remarks
13. Cause of Mistake on Fingerprint Sampling- Noted common mistakes or
failures of law enforcement officers in taking fingerprint sampling are:
a. Aberration of printing of the fingerprint
b. Ink too much thick
c. Too fast rolling speed
d. Press to hard
e. Rotation is not smooth , as they roll the finger on the paper

E. Fingerprint System- is an arrangement , which in order to effectively utilize

fingerprints in criminal investigation, provides their systematic collection ,
classification, arrangement , custody and use.

Two sub(2) Sub-system:

1) Ten(10) Fingerprint System- include the ten(10) fingerprints in cards

taken upon lawful arrest. This is to confirm the identity and the criminal
history of the arrested person.
2) Single Fingerprint System- fingerprints of suspect collected one by
one. This is to deduce the identity of the criminal through his latent
fingerprints. Under this system , the prints of all ten (10) fingers are kept
one by one in custody as basic material.

Methods and Effects on the Use of Single Fingerprint System

a) Positive deduction of suspect’s identity- this is to deduce the identity of

a suspect by comparing a latent fingerprint with the single fingerprint
card.
b) Designation inquiry- this is an inquiry made , whenever a suspect has
come to the fore with respect to a case for which the scene fingerprint
have been forwarded from the police station, i.e., to the fingerprint
center by designating the name with whom comparison is needed.
c) Under-name Fingerprint- Fingerprints impressed under a signature on
an application for pawning or any other official document. Criminals
often disguise themselves in transaction involving documents but
the fingerprints impressed on the document will reveal the true identity
of the person.
d) Identification of other crimes- latent prints when matched to the
fingerprints establishes absolute identity.
 Preparation and Custody of Fingerprint material
Since fingerprints are permanently kept in custody and utilized as the basic
materials of the fingerprint system, they should be correctly prepared and kept in
custody:

1) Preparation of Fingerprint Materials

a. Fingerprint the suspect immediately upon arrest
b. Take palm prints too
c. Employ the rolled and plain impression method
2) Impressions of Fingerprints- to make correct classifications possible, all
impressions must be made correctly and clearly

3) Methods of Impressing
a. Rolling Impressions- done by fully rolling the fingers from one side to the other
side
b. Flat or Plain Impressions – done in order to make sure whether or not rolling
impressions are correctly impressed unto the specified column. In impressing,
it must be up to the middle phalange.
c. Palm print impressing- is to impress palms unto the palm print impression
column. Impress it fully with extended palms.

4) Impressing Techniques
a. General Technique or Ordinary Impressing

Position of Impresser/Operator- the impressing plate is on the left side of the

table while the glass plate or cardholder is on its rights side.

Position of Persons- the impressing attendant or operator is on the left side

while the subject is on the right side of the operator and about 20 cm off away
from the impressing table.
b. General Rules in Impressing
1) Maintain impressing implement- cure of glass plates and roller from dust.
2) Wash fingers thoroughly
3) Dry the fingers before impressing
4) Apply proper amount of ink
5) Don’t double impress
6) Don’t forget flat impressing

c. How to apply thin ink

 Place small dab of ink , thin the ink evenly with a rubber roller. The is
rolled one away leaving the glass plate/slab after every stroke, the ink
can be thinned quickly and evenly.
 Density of Ink- the amount if ink needed for impression per person is
the volume of a match head.
 Impressing- subject is advised to look to the front or side, without
stiffening his and.
d. Extra-ordinary Impressing

 Excessively sweating fingers- apply formalin alcohol liquid to each

finger, then print;
 Finger with stiff joint-impress after shaking the subject’s hand
grasped by the wrist up and down several times to smoothen the joint
movement.
 Fingers with stiff surface skin, coarse fingers suffering from
dermatophytosis – wrap fingers in a steamed towel for several
minutes then impress
(488) How to roll fingerprints - YouTube

F. Problems Encountered by Fingerprint operator

01. Fingers have fresh cut, wound or bandaged

Remedy: note on the corresponding space on the card
If possible , examine the ridges directly

02. When the hands are perspiring excessively

Remedy: wipe the finger with cloth immediately before inking, or wipe with v
Alcohol

03. When fingers are very dry

Remedy: Rub the fingers with oil, cream or lotion
04. When the fingers are very fine like the ridges of the fingers of a baby
Remedy: Use little amount of ink

05. When one or more fingers are lacking or missing

Remedy: Record/note on the corresponding space on the fingerprint card

06. When the fingers are band, broken or crippled

Remedy: use one of the methods in taking the print of the dead

07. When the subject has more than ten fingers all are fully formed
Remedy: they should be printed on the other side of the card with a notation
that they are extra fingers

08. Should extra finger appear anywhere between or any of the fingers
Remedy: Make a notation beside the fully formed and normal fingers
 09. In case of split thumb having two nails or fingers are webbed and grown
together making it impossible to roll the fingers
Remedy: Print it in the usual manner just like ay normal thumb and make a
notation at the back of the card.

G. Fingerprint Impression Techniques on a dead body

Problems are practices on fingerprinting the Dead

 Climate condition
 Subject factors
 Nature of the surface
1. Fingers soon after death- those who died recently

Clean finger bulbs using a gauge containing alcohol; roll fingerprint roller
with ink o the fingers and cut fingerprint card to a proper size and impress it
on the fingers.

2. Stiff in a clenched fist

Those who died for a longer period, in which cases difficulty is

experienced due to, pronounced stiffening of the fingers or already at the
stages of decomposition

Use spatula or finger stretcher to stretch fingers then impress with use of
roller and ink .

3. Blanched (grown pale) and wrinkled fingers

Finger without percolate(strained) – wipe them with piece of cloth/gauge

with alcohol, soften them thoroughly with your fingertips, stretch wrinkles
and then impress.

Finger with percolate- use molding process after drying lycopodium

powder.
 In order o obtain fingerprint impressions from silicon molds, strippable paint
or cortex shall be used. This technique is as follows:

a. The molded silicon tuber shall be stretched and split

b. Its circumference shall be pinned up
c. Strippable paint or cortex shall be thinly applied to it wit a small flat
brush and then dried with a dryer
d. After repeating this operation several times, the mold shall be stripped
of the film, which shall be round, the operator’s finger be applied with
ink and then be impressed

4. Finger with peeled-off surface skin

When the true skin is exposed , take photograph after applying ink to the
true skin.

5. Fingers of charred body

In case it is feared that they will disintegrate even by the slightest touch or
move, their photographs shall be taken as they are.

6. Mummified or adipocere (fat from decomposition tissues fingers

Take their mold with silicon, make films with strippable paint or cortex, and
impress

H. POSTPORTEM FINGERPRINTING – Benefits

1. Permits the surviving spouse to remarry

2. Clears the way for the family to collect life insurance
3. Releases the family from terrible pressure of uncertainty or anxiety
4. I criminal cases, the investigation may be reopened because of identity ,
and
5. Opens the door for probate of the estate of the diseased.