An evaluation of the Maxcan fibre finder version 3.3 on cotton fibres

The Maxcan fibre finder system is a product of Cox Analytical Systems, Sweden, and has been developed for the primary purpose of searching for fibres on tape lifts. This paper evaluates the ability of the Maxcan system to search for different fibre types and colours under varying conditions. The system performed effectively in most situations, although it did have problems with some search combinations that a human operator would also find difficult in a manual search. The Maxcan system has the added advantages of being objective, consistent and able to do large batch searches unattended. These attributes make it very useful where a large number of tapes need to be searched in casework and also in research where large quantities of data need to be gathered within a reasonable time.