A system is described in which a fingerprint is manually coded by tracing certain ridges and noting events such as ridge endings and ridge beginnings.This code is sent by teleprinter to a central file where a computer identifies the fingerprint by comparing the code with codes previously entered in the file.The scheme for comparing codes is given along with some preliminary test results using typical fingerprints.(Author).

The idea of The Fingerprint Sourcebook originated during a meeting in April 2002. Individuals representing the fingerprint, academic, and scientific communities met in Chicago, Illinois, for a day and a half to discuss the state of fingerprint identification with a view toward the challenges raised by Daubert issues. The meeting was a joint project between the International Association for Identification (IAI) and West Virginia University (WVU). One recommendation that came out of that meeting was a suggestion to create a sourcebook for friction ridge examiners, that is, a single source of researched information regarding the subject. This sourcebook would provide educational, training, and research information for the international scientific community.