1. A computer implemented method for characterizing a ballistic item, the computer performing the steps of: producing a sequence of digitized infrared images of the item at different focus points such that the deepest to the highest features are each in sharp focus in at least one image; tagging each image with the ID of the item; tagging each image with specifics of the imaging set-up including the focus position, and size of digitized image array; storing the tagged image sequence in a database.