M4A1-S | Printstream (Factory New)

The Factory New M4A1-S | Printstream (FN) is the one grade where the white still reads as white and the thin printed graphics run unbroken. This wear puts the M4A1-S | Printstream between 0.00 and 0.07. It is Covert, from The Operation Broken Fang Collection, and drops from the Operation Broken Fang Case.

What the M4A1-S | Printstream looks like in Factory New

Handguard, receiver, carry handle and magazine are milky white with a cream cast. Barrel, suppressor, front sight and grip stay dark olive and unpainted, so the paint holds only the middle of the gun. Over the white sits fine gray artwork: halftone dots, drafting lines, small marks, an XX and a heart on the receiver side. It reads like a sheet pulled off a test print.

White is the hardest color to keep, and that is what this grade buys. Grime and yellowing start on the ribs of the handguard, the receiver corner and the magazine floor. The gray lines break there before the paint gives way. In Factory New none of that has begun; wear is fixed at the drop.

Where the M4A1-S | Printstream came from

This one is Workshop work. JTPNZ posted it on May 28, 2020 as M4A1-S | PRINTSTREAM, the second piece of his Printstream line, naming the artist Felipe Pantone as his inspiration. The Operation Broken Fang collection shipped on December 3, 2020, and the M4A1-S | Printstream came with it. Valve's own text promises a stark black and white design with pearlescent highlights; the render is gentler, cream rather than stark. The finish is number 984 in Valve's catalog.

What to check before buying

Before buying the M4A1-S | Printstream, check the following:

• float, since the bottom of the band keeps the plates coldest;


• the gray print on the magazine floor and the receiver corner;


• stickers on the M4A1-S | Printstream and the name tag, if the seller applied one.

The M4A1-S | Printstream comes with one fixed layout, identical across the whole run. The band is narrow, 0.00–0.07, so M4A1-S | Printstream copies look much the same. Factory New is about a ninth of the skin's full scale, and the premium follows.

What the M4A1-S | Printstream costs in Factory New

Minimal Wear asks around two-thirds of the Factory New price, the gentlest step here. Field-Tested and Well-Worn land within a few cents of each other, both under half. Battle-Scarred is roughly a third.

Among Covert M4A1-S finishes this one comes third by price in the grade. The two above ask around four times as much. Below it, Hyper Beast asks two-thirds and Golden Coil about half.

Getting the M4A1-S | Printstream

The Operation Broken Fang Case is the drop source. The M4A1-S | Printstream drops out of a contract built from ten lower-tier skins of this set. A crafted copy follows the floats that went in.

StatTrak and Souvenir

The M4A1-S | Printstream exists both as a StatTrak version and as a Souvenir release.

Stickers and craft on the M4A1-S | Printstream

White plates take stickers better than most finishes: the magazine, the receiver side and the handguard all have room. Anything bright becomes the only color on the gun, which is either the point of a craft or a mistake. Dark stickers hold their shape; pale ones sink into the base.

Who this wear suits

The Factory New M4A1-S | Printstream is the one to buy when:

• the white matters more than the step in price over Minimal Wear;


• the rifle is going into a craft that needs a clean base;


• the fine print should survive close inspection.

At playing distance a Minimal Wear copy reads the same; this grade is for the inspect view.