The old adage says, “The times, they are a changing,” and no truer words are being spoken as the days of squeezing out the black ink and rolling ink stained fingers onto cards are almost over.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office personnel have provided a service, commonly referred to as manual fingerprinting, for many years. Thousands have come to rely on the service when mandated to submit their fingerprints for employment in a variety of fields.

As computer and digital technology advanced, electronic fingerprinting was introduced and now has become the mainstay.

Standards for submitting fingerprints are set by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In compliance with the latest requirements, where manual fingerprints will no longer be accepted, the LCSO converted to the electronic fingerprinting system, while still performing manual prints.

The final touches of updating current machines, and the installation of two new ones, has been completed at area district offices, thus bringing an end to the need for manual prints.

The fee for fingerprinting is $5. It is cash only; please bring exact change. Anyone who wants to take advantage of the service must provide a valid picture identification.

Fingerprinting is done Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at district offices, including the Bravo District office at 1123-B Homestead Road. The phone number is 477-1820.