What is a different between Livescan and traditional ink fingerprint?

Live Scan refers to both the new technology and the technique used by fingerprinting agencies or law enforcement offices to capture fingerprints digitally with a fingerprint scanner and specialized software rather than a traditional way of rolling fingers using actual ink and paper to collect fingerprints. In comparison with traditional ink fingerprints, Live Scan fingerprints are not only much better quality but also easier and more convenient to process and replace if any mistakes are made during the capture.

​Livescan Fingerprints	Traditional Ink Fingerprints
Using a Livescan machine, fingerprints are taken digitally	The fingerprints are taken manually using ink
Faster and easier way to take fingerprints	Take more time and effort to take fingerprints
Easily retake any individual finger if the quality is not good	Cannot fix after the fingerprint is taken
Better quality of fingerprints (clean, clear)	Easily get smudged or messy
Can be used to submit electronically to the RCMP or print out on a hard copy	Cannot be submitted electronically to the RCMP
There is no limit to the number of copies we can print	If more than one fingerprint card is needed, the fingerprints will have to be taken again.

Many countries accept both Livescan and traditional ink fingerprints for criminal record checks. However:

- In Canada, the RCMP only accepts the Livescan fingerprints to submit electronically to them for the Canadian background check.

- In some specific countries, they only accept the actual ink fingerprints taken and printed on their own forms to process the background check.

In Canada, Live Scan service is available at all fingerprinting agencies that are accredited by the RCMP to provide fingerprinting services for civil purposes, and Frontier One Inc. is proud to be one of the largest among them. We also offers the traditional ink fingerprinting service to meet any special requests from the customers.

Any person who needs their fingerprints taken for civil purposes can request the service if they have 2 valid government-issued IDs for proof of identity, and our Frontier One team is looking forward to seeing you.