Need help with science fair!

[mcknis]

I would like to thank all of you who have ever answered my questions on here but I would like to ask of your assistance one more time.

I am starting up a science fair project for school and really want to get involved in law enforcment so I have thought about the following topic to research. For one, I thought about finding out which lifting powders lift prints the best on different surfaces (black, white, rough, smooth, oily, etc.). MY MAIN CONCERN IS PRICE. Am I stupid for looking into this? I have looked at powders, brushes, kits, etc. and they all seem too far out of my price range. Is there a cheaper way of going about this? Maybe using talcum powder, graphite powder, etc. would be cheaper but would it be worse than regular powder?

If you have any more topics (dealing with LE) that would be fairly cheap to perform, please list them.

Thanks,
mcknis

[JD45]

might be kinda hard to perform on a budget. The powders that are used are specific because they 'stick' to certain things like the oil from your finger prints. There might be someone else more sceintifically inclined than I that could pose some subsititutes, but I would be doubtful you would get any type of good results using them.

[CTDL92]

I would like to thank all of you who have ever answered my questions on here but I would like to ask of your assistance one more time.

I am starting up a science fair project for school and really want to get involved in law enforcment so I have thought about the following topic to research. For one, I thought about finding out which lifting powders lift prints the best on different surfaces (black, white, rough, smooth, oily, etc.). MY MAIN CONCERN IS PRICE. Am I stupid for looking into this? I have looked at powders, brushes, kits, etc. and they all seem too far out of my price range. Is there a cheaper way of going about this? Maybe using talcum powder, graphite powder, etc. would be cheaper but would it be worse than regular powder?

If you have any more topics (dealing with LE) that would be fairly cheap to perform, please list them.

Thanks,
mcknis

PM and when I get into my office tomorrow I'll check some of my crime scene catalogs for cheaper prices. And no the other stuff will not work.

[S43riff]

How much do you need and is it for a demonstration? I may be able to send you what you need. PM me.

[Joeyd6]

Forget which one works better. Try being more general...like fingerprints in general. You can make a call and meet with your local PD crime scene unit for a demo maybe you can tape and play. You can show the major types of loop styles...and why there are prints. You can also do a demo.
1) Buy a ink pad at your local office store. Roll a one or two prints of judegs or people who stop and look. Then show them with a magnifying glass what "loops" they have. Make sure you have apack of alcohol wipes to ensure they can clean their finger. Costs about $5-$10 including tehmagnifying glass and alcohol ppads.
2) Have a piece of glass cut with round edges ...you local shop can do it for $10. Clean it and have the same people touch it and then dust their print. Cost is cheaper than you think. You only need 1 brush and one bottle. You can get a real fingerprint brush for $5 and a bottle of black powder for $7.00. Have them touch the clean....print it...and use fingerprint lifting tape to lift it and place it on white paper. Total cost for it all is about $23 + glass cost. Then again review their print type.

You can do a hell of a project with $40 and some research. I can refer you to item #'s and where to order these items.

Good Luck!

[R1364]

Deleted by poster