TAKING FINGERPRINTS WITHOUT A KIT

Sometimes there simply isn't the time to wait for a fingerprint kit to arrive by post. If you would like to commission some memorial jewellery, and find yourself short on time, then there are ways you can take fingerprints without a memorial fingerprint kit. 

Most of us have a pencil, paper and sellotape at home, and this is all that is needed to take fingerprint. If you have a soft pencil, say a 2B or similar, even better, but a standard HB pencil will work ok. All you need to do is colour in a patch of paper with the pencil, going over the same patch repeatedly to get a good build up of colour. Then rub the paper - pencil side up - on the finger to be printed, until the finger is black from the pencil. Then press a piece of sellotape onto the finger, so the sticky side is touching the finger, then remove the tape gently and stick down onto a piece of white paper. You should be able to see the fingerprint pattern captured in pencil on the sticky tape. You can find more detailed step-by-step instructions here.

Another option is to use an ink pad. If you have children you may already have an ink pad at home which can be used - it doesn't matter what colour ink it is. If you live near a stationary or craft store, like Hobbycraft, you will be able to pick up an ink pad there. It's best to use a smooth paper, like your normal printer paper and make sure you give the ink time to dry once you have taken your prints. Each time you add ink to the finger being prints, try to take several prints until the ink runs out, this will give you a selection of dark to light prints, some willl reveal more detail than others.

Of course, if you do have time to order a print kit, then these can be found here. Our kits use forensic quality ink fingerprint strips that reveal great fingerprint detail and these will give the best results.