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!

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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.

“Shout it from the rooftops!”

I’ve been ordering stamps from Simon’s Stamps for years now, and have always been impressed with the quality. Recently, though, I had an experience that was the icing on the cake. I received a package from Simon’s Stamps, and was perplexed, as I wasn’t expecting anything. Opening it, I found a stamp I had ordered over 3 years ago – it was a large stamp, meant for envelopes, as there was a large empty space where I could hand-write the recipient’s address. Well, I don’t actually use the stamp very often, as the large empty space still had a rubber backing – and every time I’d ink it, it would subsequently transfer ink onto my envelope – right where I needed to address it. Oy! I tried various methods of masking and wiping to avoid the issue (which worked), but it became very tedious. Last year, I had posted a photo of my stamp on Instagram, expressing that though I loved the stamp, it just wasn’t functioning how I imagined. I hadn’t thought about that post for a LONG time, until yesterday – when I received said stamp (again) in the mail, with a lovely letter explaining that they had seen my post and had produced me a NEW stamp, with the rubber cut away from that large open space to avoid ink transfer. WOW! I was absolutely touched. The fact that someone had not only read my post (probably found it from my hashtag #simonstamp), but went out of their way to make me a new stamp with the issue resolved. Now THAT is good customer service. Thank you so much, Simon’s Stamps for going above and beyond! I was already a customer for life, but now I want to shout it from the rooftops!  

#SimonStamps