Fall is in full swing here, and our neighbors at Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield, MA are making good use of their stamps! Visit them at clarkdalefruitfarms.com!
Stamps for Apples
Simon’s is Hiring
Graphics, Production and Customer Service – Part Time (Turners Falls, MA)
compensation: $14.50 per hour to start
employment type: part-time (20-30 hours)
Please send us your resume!
Custom Address and Monogram Rubber Stamps
Simon’s Stamps now offers a way for you to design your own stamps easily, even with no design experience! You can choose from many different layouts and create your personal monogram, address, letterhead, and stationery stamps.
Head over to our online shop to see what you can design.
These stamps really make an impression (pun intended 😉 ) on your correspondences and also make a terrific housewarming gift.
Notary Seals
Are you a new Notary Public? or is your commission about to re-up? Simon’s Stamps offers notary seals, stamps and journals. We follow the International Marking & Identification Association’s guidelines for each state to ensure all stamps and seals meet the necessary size and format requirements.
We also offer other materials, such as foil stickers, journals and seal impression inkers. Check out our catalog @ Notary Public Supplies – simonstamp.com
Cute Teacher Desk or Door Sign
Teachers! School’s almost back in session. And we have a new, cute design to help your students get to know you this school year. Check out our 2″ x 8″ sign that you can customize with your own colors, mounting and name at our store here: https://goo.gl/mK2VSz.
For this special template, all you have to do is add in the “Special Instructions” box in the shopping cart, “Please use Template 464179,” and we will ship the name you typed on our Teacher Desk/Door Sign Template with the color and name you have chosen. Be aware that we will use the same graphics and font on the template, not what is chosen in the order, so you can just leave the font set to the default Arial.
Here’s a helpful graphic if you’ve never ordered a sign before:
Have a great school year!
Custom Rubber Stamp File Requirements
Here at Simon’s Stamps, we regularly receive emails about file requirements for custom art. It’s pretty simple: our laser engraver needs a file to be a 500 DPI monochrome bitmap. Below are the steps to get just that.
Before you get started, make sure your file has been cropped to eliminate any extra white space around the edges. You can crop right up to your art. This will ensure you get the correct size for your finished stamp.
First, in Photoshop or your image editor, click the “Image” menu option and scroll down to “Image Size…”
A new pop-up menu will appear. Make sure the “Resolution” option is set to 500. And also make sure your image dimensions are what you’d like your stamp size to be. Click “OK.”
Next, also under the “Image” menu option, click on “Mode” and choose “Grayscale.”
Then, again under the “Image” menu option, click on “Bitmap…”
, 
A new pop-up menu will appear. Make sure “Output” is set to 500 and the Method drop down option is set to “50% Threshold.” Click “OK.”
An that’s it! When you save the image, make sure to choose a BMP or TIFF file.
How to Ink Rubber Stamps
Believe it or not, there is a bit of a learning process with stamping rubber stamps, particularly if you are using them for a business purpose where consistency is key.
Before we talk about the how-to, let’s clear up what a rubber stamp can do. It can make impressions on flat surfaces best; think paper, glass, plastics. You can carefully use your rubber stamps to stamp on curved surfaces by rolling it from end to end (once) on similar flat surfaces. The more area on your art or copy the more the impression will come out with a distressed look (as seen in the image above), as the ink doesn’t get full coverage like a printer. Common text typically gets good full coverage.
It is hit or miss with alternative surfaces. Depending upon your needs, you may be able to use your stamp on wood, fabric, foam, etc.. However, keep in mind, the more porous a surface, the more the ink is like to spread, and any unevenness will shop on the impression.
Now, inking your wooden rubber stamps: the first step is pressing the stamp into the ink pad. To avoid any extra ink from getting onto unintended surfaces of the stamp, gently “kiss” the stamp to the ink pad a few times to ensure even coverage. Second, press, don’t smash, your stamp onto your flat surface (you may want to try different surfaces – often what we think is flat really isn’t). Do not rock it; just give it even, firm pressure.
We suggest practicing with each new stamp to get an idea of how much ink you need to pick up and how firmly you may need to stamp to get the desired effect.
Cleaning Your Rubber Stamps
Yes, it is important to clean off rubber stamps after use, particuarly when switching between colors.
Wood-Mounted Rubber Stamps
Do not use soap and water with wood-mounted rubber stamps, because it will loosen the adhesive and compress the cushion foam. The quickest and easiest way to clean your wood stamps is with a damp (not wet) towel.
Some inks can stain your stamps, StazOn ink, for example. It won’t ruin your stamp just stain it, and you can just clean off what you can and let the stamp dry. To get them really clean, you can use the StazOn cleaner.
Acrylic Stamps
The quickest and easiest way to clean your acrylic stamps is with warm water and a mild soap. For really stubborn ink, you can also take a soft, old toothbrush and gently scrub the crevices in the image.
Please don’t use acetone, bleach or any oil-based cleaner for either acrylic or wood-mounted stamps.
Types of Rubber Stamp Inks
Simon’s Stamps offers quite a range of ink pads – for different uses, for every color of the rainbow, many sizes up to 9×12″!
Check out our latest post below to help you figure out which option is best for your use:
ColorBox Dye Ink
Size: 4″ x 2.5″
Dye inks look, feel and behave like water. Clear brillinat colors soak right into project surfaces and dry in a heartbeat. It’s the everyday workhorse of the ink world.
Colors
ColorBox Pigment Ink
Size: 4″ x 2.5″
Pigment ink is the consistency of mayonaise. While drying time depends on the type of paper you’re using, thick, rich pigment inks are generally slow to dry, providing plenty of time to emboss and blend.
Colors
ColorBox Pigment Metalics
Size: 4″ x 2.5″
Archival quality pigment ink pad with a raised inking surface for use with any size stamp. Rich, thick pigment inks are acid-free and resist fading. Excellent for stamping on absorbent paper. Ideal for embossing, the ink dries slowly to offer more working time for embossing powders to adhere to the stamped image. Safe, water based formula. Clear cover prevents drying out.
Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze
My First ColorBox Dye Ink
Size: 3.25″ x 2.25″
Child-safe inks for stamping fun! The kid-friendly inkpad that’s washable, stackable, spill resistant case.
Colors
StazOn Pads
Size: 3″ x 2″
Solvent-Based Ink designed for decorating Non-Porous Surfaces including Glass, Metal, Shrink Plastic, Cellophane, Aluminum Foil, Leather and Acrylic. Does not require re-inking between uses. Low Odor! Archival and Acid Free. Several colors to choose from!
Colors
Memories Temporary Tattoo Body Inkpad
Size: 2.25″ x 3.5″
Temporary tattoo stamping is easier and faster than body paints and they look very realistic.
They create penetrating skin colors that wash off easily with soap and water.
The ink dries in seconds, but the image can last for days!
Hours of fun for kids, teens and playful adults. They are perfect for events where hand stamps are required!
Colors
Trodat Office Stamp Pads
Trodat hand stamp pads are optimally adjusted to the user’s needs — they dispense exactly the required amount of ink and guarantee perfect imprints. Stamp pads are available in black, blue, red, green and violet. All Trodat standard stamp inks guarantee impressions which will last for decades. Non-toxic dye based ink is free of heavy metals. Dries quickly. Great for office use on regular uncoated paper.
Sizes:
9051 – 3.5 x 2″ (90 x 50 mm)
9052 – 4.3 x 2.75″ (110 x 70 mm)
9053 – 6.3 x 3.5″ (160 x 90 mm)
Colors & 7011 – 28 ml refill bottle
Archival Ink #3 Pads
Size: 4.25″ x 6.25″
Archival Inks™ provide long-lasting stamping results that are permanent on many surfaces. Available in 6 popular shades. Oversized ink pad for brayering and easy inking of large stamps.
Colors
Shiny #3 Ink Pads
Size: 5″ x 7″
Lockable molded casing and quality felt pad combined with a generous 5″ x 7″ pad size. High quality water based ink ensures crisp impressions.
Colors
Classic #3 Pad
Size: 4.25 x 7.38″
Felt pad for water based stamp inks. Felt pad lasts for thousands of clean, sharp impressions. Durable plastic cases individually wrapped for freshness. inking area. Available in black, blue, green, red, & violet.
Colors
Industrial Pad
Size: 9 x 12
A huge 9 x 12 cloth ink pad in plastic protective case. Pad comes UNINKED and includes a complimentary 2oz bottle of water-based office ink.
Colors
Rubber Stamps for Clay
Greetings!
Here at Simon’s Stamps we get a lot of inquiries about what rubber stamps can and can’t be used for. And I’d like to talk about clay in this post, as it’s asked about most often.
Yes! You can stamp clay with rubber stamps. There are a few things to keep in mind, however.
- First, your design should be fairly simple with no fine detail. The details tend to get lost in the removal of the rubber.
- Second, we recommend the deep engraved rubber for best impressions. Our clients using clay have the most success with the deep rubber.
- Third, you may want to consider an unmounted rubber die (as shown in the photo above). This will give you more control with this medium.
Please drop us a line at orders@simonstamp.com or 413.863.6800 with any questions about deep engraved rubber stamps for use in clay or your design.
Also, check out our online shop offerings at shop.simonstamp.com for Deep Engraved Traditional Wood Handle Rubber Stamps.
