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Brought to you by Kenneth A Edelstein All Purpose Certified New York Mobile Notary

The Consumers Survival Guide
Selecting a Fingerprinting Service

The two basic techniques of taking fingerprints.

• Traditional Ink and Paper - This is by far the most common and acceptable method for taking fingerprints. Accepted almost everywhere, this method has been the standard for decades. Print quality determined by the skill of the technician. Requires ink on fingers, but modern wipes remove all traces of the ink. Instant results, completed card can be shipped immediately.
• Live Scan - A new technology with very limited acceptance. Tremendous "start up" costs. The machine cost about ten thousand dollars and leases for over six hundred a month, with the costs passed on to clients. A Mobile Scanning machine does not produce "hardcopy" fingerprint card, but, on request, card can be printed and delivered, at additional cost, at a later date. If they have a printer.

How to check out a Fingerprinting Service

• Referrals are a start, but it's safe to assume you will only be referred to positive references.
• A guarantee should allow for you to choose: money back or redo - sometimes you might not want the same "reject" source to try again - insist on a money back option if prints are rejected.
• Is the business a Member in Good Standing of  Better Business Bureau? Chamber of Commerce?
• Does the company publish a name, address and contact number for the "top man?" Do they name the technical staff? If not, ask why not. Ask if they will respond to an emergency after hours.
• Do they limit you to "office hours" at their distant location, or will they go to your location anytime?
• Don't be impressed by a company location or equipment - fingerprinting success (ink or scan) depends on the skill of the technician. You should interview the technician and use your instincts.

My thoughts on Live Scan Fingerprinting Technology

     I investigated the current "Guardian" as well as the older and somewhat obsolete "ID-500" (it cannot do "flat four" rapid scanning and relies heavily on the skill of the operator to roll the fingers - exactly the same as ink and paper). I determined they are best suited to a single location, sending always to the same place. The problem is that the scanning machines are limited to sending to a single destination. For example, if I purchased a "Guardian" and registered it for FINRA (brokerage use); I could not use it to send to anywhere else. But, if I carry along a computer, than the scanner could be reconfigured to send to a different location. However, the manufacturer told me that a separate PC is really required for each location that prints will be sent to! To make things worse, only FBI certified printers are allowed to print standard cards from the scanned images. Thus, to provide the same flexibility I now have with card and ink, I would need a scanner, several laptops, and a FBI approved printer. Way too much complexity for me. And, I might add in passing that I am truly a computer expert, having done PC support since the Apple was first introduced! It does make sense for XYZ Brokerage to have it to register brokers with FINRA - the brokerage clearinghouse - one machine - one target destination is when the "Live Scan" solution seems most practical.

     For general purpose work, Immigration, Clearances, Licensing, Adoptions, etc - Ink, card, and a skilled technician seems the most practical approach for the time being. That will probably change, but not anytime soon. I don't use a "black box", you can see the quality of my fingerprinting with your own eyes, No network delays, no software "glitches", no super high tech prices - just what you need to submit - instantly. More on the subject at http://kenneth-a-edelstein.com

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