About Rubber Stamps

Facts About Rubber Stamps

There are 3 main components of a stamp: the Rubber Die (the stamp), Mounting Foam Cushion, and a "Mount" of some sort. The components vary in combination with different types of stamps.

Wood Mounted Rubber Stamps

Wood mounted rubber stamps have a rubber stamp image mounted to a wood block with some sort of mounting cushon between the block and the image. You will find mostly wood mounted stamps in any stamp store.  These stamps can in sets or sold singly and are preassembled, and you'll pay much more for them than the foam mounted stamps.

Unmounted Rubber Stamps

Many stampers are moving toward the trend of using the rubber die, or the rubber die attached to a foam mounting cushion, usually costing a lot less than a wood mounted stamp, as it is half the manufacturing work. You can buy your own wood mounting blocks from various outlets or simply have a friend cut blocks for your needs. There are different types of mounts, such as acrylic mounts AKA The Acrylic Block, where you can see thru to your image underneath. You can attach your stamp to these mounts with mounting cushion depending on the system you are using.

Acrylic Stamps

As mentioned above, with the trend towards selling unmounted stamps and acrylic mounts, a growing number of acrylic stamp images are available on the market.  A lot of stampers don't care for acrylic stamps, because they feel they are of inferior quality. Someone once said it's like serving dinner with paper plates,. There are some great stamping tricks that a traditional rubber can facilitate, which I believe will damage or destroy acrylic stamps over time, such as velvet imprinting, impressions in sealing wax, and bleach stamping. In addition, I feel the acrylic medium does not ink up the same as the rubber die. And the most annoying factor is the suction that must be battled when removing an acrylic stamp from a smooth surface. Storage is also an issue for me--if I put my unmounted images away in a storage notebook or drawers, they are out of sight...and out of mind.

Stamp Care & Cleaning

Caring for your rubber stamps is not a big chore. Two enemies are heat and direct sunlight. You can avoid these problems with proper storage. Whether you use a shoebox or a wooden cabinet custom made for stamp storage, just place them in a friendly location. If you are stacking your stamps on one another, I would suggest storing them no more than two deep in any container to prevent weight from above compressing rubber images. I store mine rubber down so I can easily locate the image I want to work with by looking for its index sticker. I am fortunate in that most of my stamps are wood mounted stamp sets I have assembled myself, and each set came in its own plastic container. There was even an index label with the set name on it that I stuck to the end of each container. So, most of my sets are stored in their cases, stacked on a regular bookshelf with each set name facing out. The container also helps me keep my stamps from collecting dust as they would if stored out in the open.  For other single stamps I have, I find that a cardboard drawer unit with shallow drawers helps me keep my stamps easily accessible and safe. There are other methods of storage, but these are the cheapest and easiest for me.  Another part of rubber stamp care has to do with how you treat your stamp when it is not in storage! You'll generally want to avoid harsh chemicals like bleach or household cleaners, and do not get any oil or grease on your stamps because that can break down and deteriorate the rubber.  There are a lot of things you can do to rubber stamps without harming them, but one of the most important things you can do to prevent or stave off harm is to clean your stamps properly. There are stamp cleaners on the market that you may buy that are formulated to be easy on your stamps. For most clean-up jobs, I personally use a mixture of half window cleaner and half water applied from a spray bottle to a clean-up pad. (NOTE: I don't care for window cleaners with ammonia and the only brand I have found locally that fits that bill is "Glass Plus".) The clean-up pad is a plastic-backed pad with short bristles that stick up into the spaces in the stamp image and scrub them out. I just twist and tap the stamp in the clean-up pad to rinse off any gunk, and then dry the stamp with a lap towel. Some inks are more permanent, or thick, in nature and may require a special cleaner and perhaps a toothbrush to do the job.  My biggest caveat is 'Clean your stamps NOW'. It may seem tedious, but I clean as soon as is practical after stamping and always put away my stamps clean. Everything else I procrastinate!

Rubber Repair

As I said before, you can really do a lot to your stamps and still not harm them. You can actually use bleach to stamp on a dark paper to "etch" out the design (and then rinse your stamp thoroughly with water) without hurting your stamp! You can even press a design into velvet by holding an iron on the cloth over your rubber stamp for 30 seconds and still not damage your stamp. You can melt sealing wax into a dollop and stick a stamp into it as it cools to leave an impression...and yep, you guessed it, the stamp emerges unscathed.  However, it is entirely possible that you will come across a stamp whose rubber looks a little neglected and will not work for you. One remedy for dried out rubber is to soak a paper towel with glycerine and tap your stamp on it to spread the glycerine on the rubber, then let the stamp sit on the paper towel overnight. Gently clean off the stamp the next morning. This can help bring back some of the elasticity of the rubber so you can stamp with it again.  One thing I get uptight about myself is when the rubber on my stamps get "stained" from a particularly strong ink. This is actually harmless as long as there is no ink left on the stamp that will transfer again later, so don't be obsessive like me! If you needed to use a permanent ink to accomplish your masterpiece, then your stamp has served an artistic purpose. Just remember...a perfectly clean stamp is an UNUSED stamp...and how sad is that?!  On a final note, you can repair most any problem with a stamp as long as the rubber is still functional. You may need to find some cushion or some wood or some rubber cement, but it can be done. Stamps are sturdy and durable little creatures.