How can you tell the difference between fingerprints?

Answer 1

After collecting a lantent fingerprint at a crimescene investigators examine the print looking for defining characteristics such as Ridge Endings, Bifurcations, Deltas, and Cores Bifurcation- when a ridge splits into two Ridge Ends- the end of a ridge

Answer 2

There are lines in fingers and no finger print is exactly the same as another one.

Much like bird watchers look for distinctive eye stripes or tail shapes, people comparing fingerprints try to match distinguishing characteristics and locations.

Fingerprints fall into general categories of arches(plain or tented), loops (ulnar, radial, central pocket), and whorls (plain, double loop, accidental).

Once a category match is made, ridge details are comparedmore closely, looking for bifurcations, dots, ending ridges, and islands in the same places on the two prints being compared. (When you see this on tv crime shows, these finer points of comparison are referred to as a 6-point match or 12-point match. Each point being a matched detail, such as an island in a particular locus.) With two complete prints to compare there should be far more points, as many as 50-100.