TUESDAY TIPS - Acrylic Stamps Giving You a Hard Time?

I honestly believe that Stampin’ Up’s wooden stamps are the most sturdy, indestructible & long-lasting stamps available on the market today. I also have learned through experience that stamping with Stampin’ Up stamps enable me to create the most solid, vibrant & well-defined stamped images.

The vast majority of stamps I own are made by Stampin’ Up, but realistically there are occasions when I use an acrylic stamp. Acrylic stamps are the see-thru rubbery ones that are placed on an acrylic block before stamping. If you ever have been dissatisfied with the finished acrylic-stamped image, this blog post is coming to your rescue. Stampin' Up inkpads are tested and manufactured for use on Stampin' Up rubber stamps, and ink behaves differently on an acrylic surface.

I will walk you through several steps I perform when I stamp with an acrylic stamp. Keep in mind that when you open the package, the stamps come directly from the manufacturer with a coating that is not ink-friendly. Below is an image that was stamped with an acrylic stamp directly "out of the package". Notice how the image looks speckled or spongy?

Solution: pretreat or "prime" acrylic stamps to give the acrylic a cling-friendly surface before using them in your projects.

First, clean the stamp with stamp cleaner. Do you see a slight improvement in the image quality below?.........

Though the cleaning creates improvement, the next thing I do is to rub & twist the stamp surface back & forth a few times onto cardstock. Below is the improved quality you would get after this step:



Often, those two steps (cleaning & rubbing the stamp onto cs) are all that is needed for an adequate image. However, I often add a 3rd step - rub a clean soft white art eraser across the acrylic stamp’s surface. Below is a stamped image after doing all 3 priming steps.........

Since I have mentioned stamp cleaner, I'll throw in another tip for today......Stazon stamp cleaner is the most effective cleaner for your stamps when you are stamping with Stazon ink. It can prevent staining & also prevent clogging of tiny spaces in the image design on a rubber stamp.

Back to acrylic stamp images....there have been times when, despite priming, I just could not get a good stamped image. I tried something drastic & got the result I needed. I rubbed a very fine grit sandpaper LIGHTLY over the stamp surface. I tell you this with a grain of salt because I doubt the stamp manufacturer would recommend this for fear that you might harm your stamps. Try it at your own risk! (insert skull & crossbones here) lol.

There are some techniques that will also help to assure a quality stamped image:

• A stamping mat or a mousepad that has some squishiness or cushioning definitely is a useful stamping tool. As you may have noticed at my stamp camps, I often use a stamping mat for background stamps & large image stamps to get even pressure and best results as well.
• I find that applying a bit less pressure on acrylic stamps than I would apply when stamping with wood mounted stamps helps me attain a better image.

In closing today, let me say that you needn't prime Stampin' Up stamps. Our stamps are hassle free! :)

Linda :)