Thermal paper is widely used as a print medium for different applications but it constitutes a tricky substrate for fingermark visualization. An earlier work (J Forensic Sci 2015;60:1034) reported how to visualize fingermarks on untreated thermal paper by illuminating the item with a UV-A light source. In the present paper, the potential of the near infrared (NIR) luminescence has been tested on thermal paper compared to the mentioned method. A controlled study was carried out utilizing eccrine enriched fingermarks. The promising outcomes obtained were further confirmed by performing a pseudo-operational trial. Data clearly showed that the use of the NIR filter gave better results. Finally, preliminary tests suggested a different mechanism of reaction induced by fingermarks with respect to the one behind the thermal printing. Thus, NIR luminescence represents a refinement to the suite of optical examination processes, including the potential to increase the number of marks recovered in a noncontact, nondestructive way.
Keywords: NIR luminescence; fingermarks; forensic science; nondestructive method; thermal paper; ultraviolet.
© 2019 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.