Taking Legible Fingerprints

There are two types of impressions involved in taking fingerprints. The upper ten impressions are taken individually, thumb, index, middle, ring, and little fingers of each hand. These are referred to as the "rolled" impressions because the fingers are rolled from one side of the fingernail to the other, in order to obtain all available ridge detail.

The impressions at the bottom of the card are taken simutaneously without rolling, printing all of the fingers of each hand at a forty-five degree angle and then the thumbs. These are referred to as "plain," "slapped," or "flat" impressions. The plain impressions are used to verify the sequence and accuracy of the rolled impressions.