What’s in a stamp? You may be thinking that question is purely academic and unimportant if you just want to use them, but have you ever thought about making your stamps better or even repairing old ones? You’ll need to know what goes into a stamp. Along the way, we can also learn the different types of stamps and what they’re strong points are, just in case you’re looking to start a rubber stamp collection or want to add to an existing collection. Let’s take a look.
The creative part of most stamps is the rubber die. This die has been impressed with an image which can be of anything under the sun, or even an image of the sun itself. Bumble bees, leprechauns, hearts, and monogram letters. The sky is truly the limit. And in terms of having them all, now that the internet has made things so accessible, your bank account and shopping savvy are the real limits to what rubber dies you can have.
Glued onto the rubber die is a foam cushion. This helps distribute the pressure you apply onto the rubber die so that the image looks even. Onto the foam cushion is glued various things, depending on the type of stamp. The classic rubber stamp has a wood block on it, typically with a picture of what is on the rubber die. A wood block stamp is preferable to some stamping hobbyists because it is relatively hardy and classy looking. A common alternative to wooden rubber stamps are the acrylic stamps. A clear block of acrylic is mounted on the foam cushion, allowing users to see better exactly where they are stamping.
A cheaper alternative to wooden and acrylic stamps is the foam stamp. A foam stamp is different from the others in that it typically doesn’t use rubber or the foam cushion, but is one solid shaped piece of foam, all which acts as the stamping surface. These stamps are desirable on the one hand because they are cheaper, but on the other are limited to less detailed shapes and have the tendency to look uneven when stamped, unless great care is taken.
