There are three types of fingerprints: latent, patent, and plastic. The type depends on the medium of the print.

Latent prints are the type of print that we leave on objects as we go about our day. The oils on our fingers are left behind on surfaces that we touch and form a pattern of the ridges on our fingers. These are the type of fingerprints that detectives look for when they “dust” for fingerprints.

Patent fingerprints are the kind that are taken by the technicians at Speedy Fingerprinting. The old method, which is still sometimes used, is to put black ink on a person’s fingers and then press the fingers to a card. The new method, the one we usually use, is to use a fingerprint scanner to get a picture of the ridges on a client’s fingers and then print those to a card – or transmit the prints electronically to an agency that will do the background check. This is often referred to as a Livescan process.

We typically print to the standard FD258 card but have the ability to print to other cards such as an SF87 or FINRA card. Electronic transmissions can be made to the FBI, Florida, and the DoD SWFT system. We can also create Electronic Fingerprint Transmission (EFT) files for submission to the ATF for form 1 and form 4.

Plastic fingerprints are prints left in a solid but soft object. Prints placed on Silly Putty is a good example of a print being made this way. Plastic fingerprints don’t depend on something being transferred, like oils or ink, from the finger to an object. They are also known as impressions because they leave a three-dimensional indented replica of a fingerprint. Since they are impressions, plastic fingerprints are reversed so that the ridges become valleys and the valleys become ridges in the impression. These types of prints are very useful in forensics if found. At crime scenes they are found in mud, clay, wet paint, or even soap.

If you need your prints taken for your job, for a visa, for a D0D security clearance or any other purpose, make an appointment with us for a fingerprinting session at our home page. We’re open five days a week from 9 until 5 but we can make accommodations for times outside of those hours. We’re located in Madison, Alabama just off the interstate so we’re convenient to all of the Huntsville, Alabama metro area. We can print your fingerprints to cards, create an EFT file for ATF submissions, or transmit your fingerprints electronically to the FBI or Florida. If you want to discuss any special needs, give us a call at 256-797-2197.