Which item should be submitted to the lab for latent prints?

• A. Paper documents
• B. A glass window
• C. A door frame
• D. A metal pipe

Answer: (A)

Latent prints on porous surfaces require chemical development best done in a controlled lab environment. Paper documents are porous, so the sweat and oils that make up latent prints can be absorbed by the paper fibers, making them harder to visualize without specialized reagents like ninhydrin or physical developer. Processing these substances in the lab ensures consistent, documented development and preserves the print for comparison.

Non-porous surfaces such as glass or metal typically yield prints that can be developed or lifted with field methods (powders, cyanoacrylate fuming) or more straightforward lab techniques, so they’re often more readily processed on scene or with simpler methods. Doors and frames can be variably porous, but the classic, more challenging latent prints on paper benefit most from lab processing.

So paper documents are the best item to submit for latent print analysis because their porous nature requires the lab’s chemical processing to reliably reveal and preserve the print.