A fingerprint is unique to every individual, and to every finger
When taking a fingerprint for us, please do the following:
1. Please make sure the hands are clean and free of debris before taking a fingerprint.
2. Make impressions of all of your fingertips. You will find that some fingerprint patterns are much more interesting and detailed than others. As an example, the fingerprints shown at left are from the same individual, same hand, different fingertips.
3. When taking the impression, tap your finger in the ink and then tap it LIGHTLY on the fingerprint card. We do not need you to 'roll' your finger like they do on TV. We need a light tap like you'd do if you were wanting to check if the stove was hot...a quick light tap. We only need the pad of the fingertip itself, as shown in the illustration on the left. And please try to 'center' the unique feature of the print.
4. When making an impression, please remember that we need a clear separation of black (fingerprint ridges) and white (valleys between the fingerprint ridges). This is necessary in order for us to accurately reproduce the fingerprint.
5. Below is a typical fingerprint card that was mailed to us (a clean sheet of white paper is acceptable as well). This individual found his most unique fingerprint (middle finger, left hand...not the thumb...go figure) and gave us 7 impressions of the same fingerprint. Not every impression was usable. We've detailed each impression below to try and give you an understanding of exactly what it is we are looking for in a fingerprint impression.
1. Please make sure the hands are clean and free of debris before taking a fingerprint.
2. Make impressions of all of your fingertips. You will find that some fingerprint patterns are much more interesting and detailed than others. As an example, the fingerprints shown at left are from the same individual, same hand, different fingertips.
3. When taking the impression, tap your finger in the ink and then tap it LIGHTLY on the fingerprint card. We do not need you to 'roll' your finger like they do on TV. We need a light tap like you'd do if you were wanting to check if the stove was hot...a quick light tap. We only need the pad of the fingertip itself, as shown in the illustration on the left. And please try to 'center' the unique feature of the print.
4. When making an impression, please remember that we need a clear separation of black (fingerprint ridges) and white (valleys between the fingerprint ridges). This is necessary in order for us to accurately reproduce the fingerprint.
5. Below is a typical fingerprint card that was mailed to us (a clean sheet of white paper is acceptable as well). This individual found his most unique fingerprint (middle finger, left hand...not the thumb...go figure) and gave us 7 impressions of the same fingerprint. Not every impression was usable. We've detailed each impression below to try and give you an understanding of exactly what it is we are looking for in a fingerprint impression.
Each print on the following fingerprint card is explained in detail below
Print #1
The interesting and unique element of this fingerprint did not get centered when taking the impression. Please pay close attention to this detail. This print could be a lot better.
Print #2
This print was 'rolled' onto the paper like you see on TV. Our process DOES NOT work with this type of print. It's very important that we have a very clean seperation between the ridges and valleys. As you can see, there is a lot of black around the edges and our equipment cannot seperate the features. This print is unusable.
print #3
This print was centered just fine, but there was too much pressure applied causing the ridges and the valleys of the fingerprint to be smeared. This print is unusable. We need lots of black and white, this one has too much black.
Print #5
Now we're talking. This print is almost perfect. I wish the swirl would have been centered a little better, but notice that there is very clean seperation between the ridges and the valleys. There is no smudging on the edges. This print was produced using a very light, very quick 'tap' on the page. Give me 10 just like this and we're in business.
print #6
Not too bad. The swirl is centered nicely and there is nice seperation between the ridges and valleys. There is light smudging around the 9:00 postition, but this is a very usuable print.
print #7
Almost perfect. At Touched Impressions, we know that taking a 'perfect' fingerprint is next to impossible. But if you can give us 8 or 10 fingerprint impressions, and 2 or 3 look like this, we'll be able to make you that beautiful new piece of jewelry with your loved one's touch that you will cherish forever.
Our recommendation for creating a clear print:
Don't have your loved ones fingerprints? This is a very good product that you can buy at Michael's for less than $5 that creates a very clear footprint image, and washes off quickly! If this is not available, we can send you a fingerprinting ink strip to help you capture the print.