Since early 1995, the Boston Police Department has been using live-scan techniques in each district station. In the live-scan process, individuals place their fingers and palms onto a scanner window. The scanner records the distinctive ridges of each finger or palm and sends them to a computer. The image is translated into a digital format, which is recorded and sent to the central processing facility, along with a full-color digital photograph of the subject's face. All of the information is ultimately sent to the FBI's fingerprint center in Clarksburg, WV, all by telephone line. Because no ink is involved, this process eliminates the problem of smudged prints and the necessity to redo the job; the image is recorded and can be duplicated as often as necessary. The digital images can be sent to other organizations at the speed of light and without degradation of the image. The digital process also allows for almost instantaneous comparison with other prints.