Case Study: Forensic Photonics achieves rapid, field-ready fingerprint imaging with Stratasys P3™ DLP

How Forensic Photonics used additive manufacturing to self-fund and bring a new product to market quickly

Forensic Photonics set out to speed up latent fingerprint detection with its LIFT (Latent Imaging Fluorescence Technology) device but hit a roadblock: the complex, durable plastic housing required for field use couldn’t be economically produced with traditional machining. To prototype and iterate quickly while achieving production-grade strength and weather resistance, the startup turned to additive manufacturing — leveraging Stratasys technology, including P3™ DLP/Origin printing and Somos® WeatherX™ 100 material.

Using Stratasys’ P3™ DLP capabilities and the Origin/Somos material combination, Forensic Photonics moved from hobbyist prints to a rugged, demo-ready product after just two production prints and dozens of iterations, demonstrated successfully at the IAI conference and in testing with the San Francisco Police Department. The result: a market-ready LIFT unit sold to a rural county agency, dramatically faster development timelines, field-ready durability, and the ability to reduce fingerprint processing delays from months to minutes — with plans to scale production using Stratasys equipment in-house.

Forensic Photonics

Geoff Lambright

Founder