What kind of fingerprints can silicone rubber casting accurately preserve?

Silicone rubber casting is particularly effective at preserving plastic prints. These are impressions left in a soft material, such as wax or clay, which take on the shape of the ridges in a fingerprint. When silicone rubber is used to create a cast of these impressions, it captures the detailed contours and textures of the ridges and valleys found in the print. This allows for a highly accurate representation of the original print, making it useful for forensic analysis.

Latent prints, on the other hand, are typically invisible to the naked eye and require specific processing techniques to be visualized before they can be captured. Patent prints are visible fingerprints transferred onto a surface, often leaving an impression in a substance like ink or blood, and while they can be photographed, they don't require casting methods like silicone rubber. Thus, silicone rubber casting is specialized for plastic prints, making it the correct answer.