| Code Value |
Definition |
| ARTIFACT | Digital artifacts, such as occasionally caused by compression or livescan devices |
| BACKGROUND | Interference with background makes following ridges difficult (e.g. check patterns) |
| COMPRESSED | Distorted area in which ridges are compressed together |
| DISTORT | Miscellaneous distortion (See also Compressed and Stretched) |
| NEGATIVE | Used if only a portion of the friction ridge image is tonally reversed (has ridges and valleys inverted so that ridges appear white and valleys appear black). Note that the FrictionRidgeImageTonalReversalCode element is used if the entire image is t |
| OTHER | Other quality issues not characterized elsewhere; details should be noted in comments |
| OVERDEV | Overdeveloped area: excessive processing medium such as ink, powder, etc. |
| OVERLAP | Area in which another friction ridge impression is superimposed over the impression of interest |
| SMEAR | Smeared or smudged area |
| STRETCHED | Distorted area in which ridges are stretched apart from each other |
| TAPE | Lifting tape artifacts (crease, bubble, etc.) |