Single Prints
Single prints are price levels in a Market Profile that were visited during only one TPO period, appearing as a single letter rather than a stacked column. They indicate areas of fast, one-sided movement where the market quickly rejected price: and often act as support or resistance on a retest.
Single prints are price levels on a Market Profile chart that have exactly one TPO letter: meaning price visited that level during only one 30-minute period before moving away. Rather than a stacked column of letters (indicating extended acceptance), they appear as an isolated letter standing alone.
What single prints indicate
Single prints form when the market moves through a price level quickly and does not return during the session. This rapid, one-directional movement indicates:
- Initiative activity: an aggressive buyer or seller driving price through the level without two-sided business
- Rejection: the market’s participants collectively decided price was not fair at that level
- Imbalance: the auction moved before equilibrium was established
Single prints are the opposite of high-volume nodes. Where HVNs show acceptance, single prints show rejection.
Single prints as support and resistance
Because single prints represent unfinished business: levels where only one side participated: the market tends to return to complete the auction. This gives single prints predictive value:
Single prints above current price: unfilled sell-side business. When price rallies into a zone of single prints, it may slow, stall, or reverse as two-sided activity finally occurs.
Single prints below current price: unfilled buy-side business. A decline into a single print zone may find support as the auction completes.
Single prints at session extremes
Single prints often appear at the high or low of a session, particularly on trend days where the market moved directionally without much two-sided activity near the extreme. A session high with 1–2 single print TPOs is a level the market will likely revisit: and potentially breach: in future sessions.
Single prints vs low volume nodes
These concepts overlap but come from different frameworks:
- Single prints: a Market Profile (time-based) concept: one TPO letter at a price
- Low volume node (LVN): a Volume Profile concept: very little actual volume traded at a price
Both indicate thin areas where price moved through quickly without transacting much, and both tend to be fast-moving on retests.