A finger imaging system having a linear actuator, a pivot arm mounted to the linear actuator and an energy transducer mounted to the pivot arm is disclosed. The system may include an arcuate platen positioned to receive energy from the transducer. A finger may be placed on the platen, and the position of the transducer may be fixed at a first position relative to the length of the finger. The pivot arm may be moved in order to move the transducer along an arcuate path while maintaining the transducer at the first position relative to the length. As the transducer moves along the arcuate path, energy may be emitted from the transducer and reflected from the finger. The reflected energy may be detected and data corresponding to the amount of time between sending and receiving energy may be stored as data along with the linear and angular position of the transducer. After data is gathered about the finger at the first position, the transducer may be moved to a second position relative to the length of the finger, where the process of sweeping the transducer along an arcuate path and gathering data may occur again. The stored data can be used to create an image of the fingerprint.