Fingerprints: Types

Latent Prints:
Although the word latent means hidden or invisible, in modern usage for forensic science the latent means any chance of accidental impression left by friction ridge skin on a surface, regardless of whether it is visible or invisible at the time of deposition.
Latent prints may exhibit only a small portion of the surface of the finger and may be smudged, distorted, overlapping, or any combination, depending on how they were deposited.
Direct (also called Visible or Patent) Prints:
These are friction ridge impressions obvious to the human eye and are caused by a transfer of foreign material on the finger, onto a surface.Finger deposits can include materials such as ink, dirt, or blood onto a surface.
Plastic (also called impressed) Prints:
A plastic print is a friction ridge impression from a finger or palm deposited in a material that retains the shape of the ridge detail.