Rubber Stamp Information

Being that there are so many various outlets to purchase rubber stamps it can at times become a daunting task discerning the differences between certain types, restrictions and applications. Here we will be detailing just about anything you could ever want to know about rubber stamps.

History

Stamps have been around for much longer than many would think. Their origin dates back to early Chinese empires for use with marking a families name and stayed in much the same form for many years afterword. The rubber stamp became more popular in the 18th century as the rubber was being used in more and more applications.

According to Wikipedia; "Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanized, onto a sheet of rubber. The rubber is often mounted onto a more stable object such as a wood, brick or an acrylic block. Increasingly the vulcanized rubber image with an adhesive foam backing is attached to a cling vinyl sheet which allows it to be used with an acrylic handle for support. These cling rubber stamps can be stored in a smaller amount of space and typically cost less than the wood mounted versions. They can also be positioned with a greater amount of accuracy due to the stamper's ability to see through the handle being used. Temporary stamps with simple designs can be carved from a potato. The ink coated rubber stamp is pressed onto any type of medium such that the colored image is transferred to the medium. The medium is generally some type of fabric or paper. Other media used are wood, metal, glass, plastic, rock. High volume batik uses liquid wax instead of ink on a metal stamp."

Here is an example of how rubber stamps began becoming more widely used and marketed during the early 20th century. As you may or may not notice; not much has changed when it comes to the traditional rubber and hand stamps.

Types of Rubber Stamps

Traditional hand rubber stamps = These stamps are the classic ones that usually feature a wooden body with a handle for easier application. The type of dye used depends on the manufacturer. Many no longer use the classic red rubber but instead a polymer that is laser cut and last longer than the vulcanized rubber.

Self-inking rubber stamps - Help save time and effort by automatically inking the stamp dye before every use. They hold an ink pad within the stamp mount itself. When pressed down, the stamp dye plate hits the ink pad and then rotates to make an impression. This process uses a minimal amount of ink and can be reused for thousands of impressions.

Pre-inked stamps - There are two main kinds of pre-inked stamps; laser engraved pre-inked stamps and flash pre-inked stamps. An ink pads rests within the stamp mount and the ink is pressed through a dye plate leaving an impression. Pre-inked stamps usually take an additional amount of time to leave a really crisp impression that is left every time.