USP-S | Printstream (Field-Tested)

The USP-S | Printstream in Field-Tested (FT) is the second most affordable of the Covert USP-S finishes. Only USP-S | The Traitor costs less, and by just a few percent. The rank is Covert, and the source is the Recoil Case.

What the USP-S | Printstream looks like in Field-Tested

The slide and suppressor are white and the frame is dark gray, the same strict scheme as the rest of the series. The slide carries a mark of two X's and fine technical graphics, and narrow iridescent stripes run along the grip. The suppressor is almost clean, with no artwork at all, which makes this pistol look tidier than the other Printstream guns.

The pearl works on the white areas: turn the weapon and a cool glint travels over the slide and suppressor. Valve's item text calls it an iridescent coating, and it is what sets the series apart from ordinary black-and-white finishes.

In Field-Tested the edge of the slide and the front of the suppressor are rubbed through. The suppressor catches on corners in game more than any other part. The white base turns gray there and the shimmer goes dull, while the dark frame looks the way it does in the cleaner wears.

Where the USP-S | Printstream came from

The skin came from the Steam Workshop. Its author, JTPNZ, made the whole series. He posted the USP-S submission on December 30, 2020 and explained the idea himself. After the first collection did well, he decided to extend the artwork to five guns, keeping the black-and-white scheme and adding the iridescent coating. He picked the weapons for the series from player comments on the earlier collection.

Release came on July 1, 2022, together with the Recoil Case. Valve's catalog numbers the finish 1142.

What to check before buying

• the float, which shows how much shimmer is left on the slide and suppressor;


• the front of the suppressor, the first place to wear through;


• any name tag and stickers that come with the listing.

Every copy shares one pattern, so artwork never decides which one to buy.

What the USP-S | Printstream costs in Field-Tested

Step up to Factory New and the price is about two and a half times higher; Minimal Wear adds a little over half again. Below this wear the ladder is short. Well-Worn costs the same, and Battle-Scarred about a fifth less.

There are four Covert USP-S finishes in the game, and in this wear the Printstream is second from the bottom by price. USP-S | The Traitor is cheaper by a few percent, USP-S | Kill Confirmed costs almost twice as much, and USP-S | Neo-Noir almost three times as much.

Getting the USP-S | Printstream

The Recoil Case is the drop source. The other route is a trade-up: ten Classified skins from the Recoil Collection go in and a Covert comes out, and the collection has two Covert skins.

This case has one quirk: its rare special items are gloves, not knives. There are six models: Broken Fang Gloves, Driver Gloves, Hand Wraps, Moto Gloves, Specialist Gloves and Sport Gloves.

StatTrak and Souvenir

A StatTrak version of the USP-S | Printstream exists. No souvenir packages were ever issued for this finish, because those were made only for tournament map collections. A souvenir copy can still be built by hand: the Souvenir-O-Matic puts gold tournament stickers and a player autograph on an ordinary skin from your inventory. That is why a lone souvenir copy occasionally turns up even where no package ever existed.

Stickers and craft on the USP-S | Printstream

The black-and-white base takes any color, and bright stickers read on it at once. The pistol has little free room, though. For a craft in CS2 the slide is the usable part, since the suppressor is rarely covered with stickers. One or two stickers are therefore more common here than a full set.

Who this wear suits

The USP-S | Printstream in Field-Tested makes sense when:

• you want a strict Covert USP-S for CS2 at the low end of the rank's prices;


• there is no reason to go lower, because Well-Worn costs the same;


• you like black-and-white graphics more than bright scenes.

The shimmer is already muted in FT, and shimmer is the main trait of the series. For a bright glint, go to Minimal Wear.