The Single Print Strategy is a specialised Market Profile technique used to identify rejection zones, breakout confirmations, and auction extremes based on areas where price moved rapidly through a level with minimal trading activity. A “single print” refers to a price level with only one letter or TPO (time-price opportunity) on a Market Profile chart, indicating that the market spent very little time there due to aggressive buying or selling.

This strategy is highly effective in spotting low-volume rejection points and breakout zones in both intraday and swing trading.

What Are Single Prints in Market Profile?

In Market Profile, price is plotted using letters to represent time intervals (e.g. 30-minute periods). A single print occurs when:

• A price level is visited only once during the session
• It appears between high-volume areas on the profile
• It signifies a lack of interest at that level—price moved through quickly

Single prints typically show:

• Rejection from a level (auction ended rapidly)
• Aggressive entry of directional participants
• Thin liquidity zones likely to act as support/resistance

Why Single Prints Matter

• They reveal imbalance zones where the market aggressively shifted
• They help confirm breakouts or failed auctions
• They mark structural gaps that price may or may not revisit
• They are used to anticipate reaction points in future sessions

Types of Single Print Setups

1. Breakout Confirmation via Single Print Zone

Objective: Validate that a breakout is genuine and supported by auction logic.

Setup:

• Identify a single print area after price breaks out of balance (e.g. above value area high)
• Volume drops in the single print zone, but price holds above/below
• Enter on retest of single print zone as support/resistance

Entry: On confirmation candle after price tests the single print zone
Stop-Loss: Just beyond the single print zone
Target: Measured move or next volume node

Best Used In: Trending market post-breakout

2. Rejection from Single Print Area

Objective: Trade the reversal after price is rejected from a prior single print zone.

Setup:

• Price revisits a historical single print zone but immediately reverses
• Look for long wicks or low volume at the zone
• Combine with RSI/MACD divergence or reversal candle

Entry: After rejection is confirmed with price reversal
Stop-Loss: Above or below the single print zone extremes
Target: Back toward POC or prior value area

Best Used In: Reversion-to-value environments

3. Failed Breakout Through Single Print

Objective: Fade a breakout that fails to hold above the single print zone.

Setup:

• Price attempts to break out through a single print area but is rejected back into balance
• No follow-through volume above or below the level
• Trapped breakout traders begin to unwind

Entry: On return inside the value area with confirmation
Stop-Loss: Just outside the failed breakout point
Target: Opposite edge of the balance or POC

Best Used In: False breakout conditions or low-volume sessions

Best Practices When Using Single Prints

• Combine with Volume Profile to confirm lack of liquidity in the zone
• Watch for context: single prints are more meaningful when they appear at balance edges or session extremes
• Use in confluence with VWAP, candlestick signals, or delta footprint charts for precise execution

Ideal Timeframes and Instruments

• Markets: Futures, forex, indices, crypto (with sufficient volume data)
• Timeframes: Intraday (30-minute Market Profile), but can also be used on daily for swing setups

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Blindly trading every single print: Not all single prints are tradeable—context matters
• Ignoring volume and price behaviour: Single prints work best when confirmed with aggressive price action
• Confusing single prints with price gaps: Single prints are auction-based; gaps are structural

Conclusion

The Single Print Strategy is a refined Market Profile technique that offers traders insight into auction rejection zones, volume inefficiencies, and breakout confirmation levels. By mastering single print analysis and integrating it with price action and volume tools, traders can anticipate high-probability reaction points that are invisible on traditional charts.

To learn how to implement single print setups effectively and integrate them with professional-level auction market techniques, enrol in our advanced Trading Courses at Traders MBA and refine your ability to trade where others hesitate.