How Rubber Stamps Are Made By Tina Banks At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The best way to create high quality rubber stamps is to use a laser engraver. Although these cost thousands of dollars, they produce stamps of very high quality and can have really intricate designs and small lettering engraved into them. The advantage in using a laser engraver is that it can produce a lot of rubber stamps quickly, with little waste.

They are programmed to engrave stamps so that a lot can be done at once therefore decreasing the labor involved. Also, the laser engraver cuts so deep no cutting is needed when the engraving is complete. You just push the item that has been etched and this saves a lot of time.

When the etching is complete you soak the stamps in some water so that the rubber dust can be cleaned off. If this isn’t done, then the quality of the stamp may be impaired. Following the cleaning and drying of the stamp, it can be mounted onto a piece of wood enabling you to stamp with ease!

Of course, this is not very practical for someone wishing to make his or her own stamps at home. This type of technique is only practical for big companies manufacturing a lot of stamps to sell in shops around the country.

To make stamps in your own home there is a chemical and non-chemical process to be used on rubber erasers. The non-chemical process begins with you tracing or drawing the design that you want onto a piece of rubber. This is then cut with a sharp knife until the only thing remaining is the raised image that you want to stamp.

The chemical process uses a black and white photocopy of the image, which is wet using acetone. This is an irritant and is highly flammable so should be done in a ventilated area and wearing gloves to prevent contact. The black image is then pressed down onto the piece of rubber you are using, and the black ink will then be transferred to the rubber. Then you use a sharp knife to cut away the rubber to leave a raised image. This method is more accurate since it copies the design you want directly instead of you having to draw the design onto the rubber eraser.

Once you have carved the design onto rubber it must be mounted so it can be used easily and prevent the stamp being damaged.

You may think that it is cost efficient to make your own stamps however, they are very time consuming. Rubber stamps are now available in shops at about $4.00 so it may be to your need advantage just to buy rubber stamps when you need them.

The third way to create rubber stamps is a method called photoengraving stamp making. To start making stamps this way requires an initial investment and involves a lot of work.

To start you need a negative of the image you are going to use, which is a black graphic on white background. You also need a metal plate, which is engraved with the stamp’s image. Once engraved, it is put into a machine with a matrix board and the matrix board is made is made into a mold using heat and pressure. This is called vulcanization. The rubber that you are using is then cut to the mold size and is vulcanized to produce the rubber stamp. One of the disadvantages to this technique is that due to the intense pressure and heat that the mold is under, it may only produce about 50 stamps. The stamp is then mounted using mounting foam and a wooden block and it is ready to be used.

This method is best used by companies that want to produce a number of stamps of the same design in a short period of time. However, it is not good for companies that are asked to make custom made stamps since the molds are only used once before being discarded making it less cost effective.

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