How to Create an EFT Fingerprint File at Home

Step 1: Prepare Your Workspace

• Clear a flat, stable surface
• Place FD-258 card on hard surface (not soft/padded)
• Have ink pad and paper towels ready
• Good lighting helps you see print quality

Step 2: Prepare Your Hands

1. Wash hands thoroughly with soap
2. Dry completely (wet hands = smeared prints)
3. Remove any lotion, oil, or residue
4. If hands are very dry and cracked, lightly moisturize then blot dry

Tip: Room temperature hands work best. Cold fingers can produce faint prints.

Step 3: Ink Your Fingers

1. Press fingertip onto ink pad
2. Roll slightly to cover entire print area
3. Coverage should be nail edge to nail edge
4. Ink should be even - not gloppy, not faint

Common mistakes:

• Too much ink: Causes smudging and fills in ridge detail
• Too little ink: Produces faint, unreadable prints
• Uneven ink: Creates light spots in the print

Step 4: Roll Fingerprints (Individual Boxes)

The FD-258 has 10 individual boxes for rolled prints:

Rolling technique:

1. Position finger at one edge (nail side)
2. Press down with moderate, even pressure
3. Roll smoothly across the box to opposite edge
4. Lift straight up when complete

Critical tips:

• One continuous motion: Don't stop and restart
• Nail to nail: Capture the full fingerprint width
• Don't slide: Rolling only, no lateral movement
• Consistent pressure: Not too hard, not too light

Box order on FD-258:

1. Right thumb	6. Left thumb
2. Right index	7. Left index
3. Right middle	8. Left middle
4. Right ring	9. Left ring
5. Right little	10. Left little

Step 5: Add Flat Impressions (Bottom Boxes)

The bottom of the FD-258 has spaces for "slap" prints:

1. Four fingers simultaneously: Press right hand four fingers flat in right box
2. Four fingers simultaneously: Press left hand four fingers flat in left box
3. Both thumbs: Press both thumbs side by side in center box

These flat impressions help verify the rolled prints above.

Step 6: Fill In Personal Information

Complete these fields on the FD-258 card in black ink:

• Name: Full legal name (as on government ID)
• Date of birth: MM/DD/YYYY format
• Place of birth: City, State or City, Country
• Address: Current residential address
• Signature: Sign in designated box

ORI field: Leave blank - SlapEFT adds appropriate code during conversion.

Step 7: Scan the Card

Scanner settings:

• Resolution: 600 DPI (required)
• Color mode: Color or grayscale (either works)
• Format: PNG, TIFF, or high-quality JPEG

Scanning tips:

• Place card flat on scanner glass
• Align with scanner edges
• Close scanner lid completely
• Preview before final scan to check alignment

Quality check:

Open the scanned image and zoom in on the fingerprints. You should clearly see ridge detail (the lines that make up the fingerprint). If prints look like solid blobs, rescan or recapture.

Step 8: Convert to EFT Format

1. Go to slapeft.com/convert
2. Click "Upload" and select your scanned image
3. System automatically detects and extracts fingerprints
4. Review extracted prints and personal information
5. Pay $10
6. Download ATF-compliant .eft file

What SlapEFT does:

• Extracts individual fingerprints from card image
• Converts to NIST/ANSI-ITL format
• Applies WSQ compression
• Adds required ATF metadata
• Ensures file is under 12MB
• Validates for eForms compatibility