Stamp

Stamps are available in different materials and designs.

Rubber stamps

Rubber stamps often come in a brownish-red or gray color.

Rubber stamps can have highly detailed images.

Wood-mounted stamps

Wood-mounted stamps are rubber stamps that are attached to a wooden block. There's usually an extra layer of foam in between the block and the rubber, and the block itself contains an image (often a sticker) of the image itself.

Because rubber stamps are not see-through, a wood-mounted stamp can be hard to place. You can use an L-shaped stamp positioner to get more precise placement.

Cling stamps

Some rubber stamps have a layer of foam on the back that has a shiny side instead of a wooden block. This foam layer often contains a protective layer that can be removed to reveal a slightly tacky material. This means these stamps can be used with acrylic stamping blocks because they will cling to it, hence the name.

Unmounted stamps

Some stamps are sold without a handle or extra layer of any kind. You can either attach a layer of craft foam or mounting foam yourself, or you can attach it to a stamping block or stamp positioner with double-sided tape, removable tape or by adding some tacky-when-dry glue to the back of the stamp.

Clear stamps

Clear stamps are, as the name implies, see-through, which makes positioning an image much easier than when using rubber stamps.

These stamps are usually cheaper than rubber stamps because they require fewer materials and are more compact to store.

Note that clear stamps might stain after use (especially with any red dyes), but this does not change the quality of the stamp or the stamped image.

Depending on the ink you're using, you will need to clean your stamps with specific tools and products.

A new clear stamp might need priming if the ink beads up on the surface: use a regular white eraser, your finger, or stamp cleaner to clean the stamping surface of the stamp.

Clear stamps come in two materials:

• Photopolymer:
  • higher quality
  • takes ink quite well
  • a bit more firm than silicone
  • feels a bit sticky
  • can discolor into a yellow shade if exposed to heat and/or UV (such as sunlight), but this does not change the quality of the stamped image
• Silicone:
  • lower quality
  • doesn't take ink as well (ink might pool)
  • is softer than photopolymer which makes it easy to press too hard and get an image that's less sharp
  • might disintegrate if it's stored on acetate sheets or specific types of plastic