Plaster is used for making foot, shoe, and tire impressions. It is excellent for casting bite marks and wounds. Plaster is ideal for making positive impressions of the fingers and palms of deceased persons who are so badly decomposed that inked impressions cannot be made. Silicone is used for casting toolmarks, and to make negative impressions of fingers and palms of deceased persons. It is also outstanding for lifting latent prints from doorknobs, bottlenecks, and other odd shaped items where it would be impossible to use tape without wrinkling, thereby, destroying the print. (Author abstract)