| Fingerprinting isn't just for criminal identification | | | | ink-covered digit gently from left to right in the |
| anymore. Depending on where you live, state laws | | | | allotted space on the card. |
| may require you to submit fingerprints for a | | | | On the bottom row, several of your fingers are |
| background check before you can even volunteer in | | | | placed on the card simultaneously (titled inward at a |
| the community. Since fingerprinting can be a tricky | | | | forty-five degree angle) to create "flat" or "slapped |
| and highly sensitive process, it is important to get | | | | prints." Because these prints are made without rolling |
| your prints recorded with the help of a professional. | | | | your fingers, less of the surface area is recorded |
| After all, you wouldn't want to smudge your own | | | | which means that these prints will look smaller than |
| prints and increase the risk of being mistaken for | | | | the rolled images above them. The thumbs will have |
| someone else. | | | | to be recorded separately from the other fingers |
| Another reason to get professionals to make your | | | | simply because of the way that your hand is shaped |
| prints is that the procedure can be expensive. The | | | | but they will not be rolled either. |
| price can vary anywhere from twelve dollars to | | | | One of the most important things to keep in mind |
| almost sixty dollars. And, if you have to get more | | | | while fingerprinting takes place is the amount of ink |
| than one fingerprinting done every year, the | | | | on your hands because too much or too little ink will |
| expenses can really add up. | | | | make details hard to distinguish. The ink must also be |
| There are several places to go for professional San | | | | applied evenly to avoid dark or light spots. |
| Diego fingerprinting, but the quality prints that you | | | | One fun thing to look for, after your fingerprints |
| are paying for should be consistent in several ways. | | | | have been made, is the type of pattern on your skin. |
| For example, fingerprints are usually recorded with | | | | There are three main classifications: arches, loops and |
| black ink on a white card that has been divided into | | | | whorls. Arches look like hills, loops usually consist of |
| three rows. The first two rows are both filled with | | | | lines that enter and exit from the same side of the |
| rolled prints from each of your ten fingers. Rolled | | | | print and whorls are usually circular patterns. |
| prints are created one finger at a time by rolling each | | | | |