Just west of Toronto
by an Award Winning Manufacturer!
T.S.T. Rubber Stamp
is an accredited
The makers of Corel Draw®
and other fine products.
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Remember:
If you write the same thing more
than 5 times a day, you should
stamp it!
Copyright © 2009
T.S.T. Enterprises.
All rights reserved.
Maintained by
T.S.T. Enterprises
- What is a "self inking" stamp?
- What is a "pre-inked" stamp?
- What is a "High-Yield" or "flash" stamp?
- What is a "woodmount" or traditional hand stamp?
- How do you re-ink a self inking stamp?
- I'm trying to stamp on glossy paper, and it is not drying. My information smears. Can you help?
- Can special typestyles, logos or even signatures be put on a stamp?
- What is the warranty on these stamps?
- Rubber stamps, aren't they all the same?
- What is the name of our Shipping Department Supervisor?
Question - What
is a "Self Inking" stamp?
A self inking stamp is a one where the
inkpad is built right in. The pad can be easily re-inked or
changed when the image starts to get faint. The die plate sits on
the inkpad and when the top is pushed down, the die plate "flips" around
to make contact with the paper. A self inking stamp will usually
travel about 3/4" to 1" when pushed down. These are the stamps we
recommend for the majority of your needs because of their longevity and
flexibility. The colour of the ink in the stamp can be changed and
any updates to the imprint information can be done easily.
Question - What is a "Pre-inked"
stamp?
A pre-inked stamp is where the die is
made from a material that has the ink actually embedded into the die
plate during the manufacturing process. Heat and pressure are
applied to seal the ink into the printing surface. The easiest way
to tell if you have a pre-inked stamp is to check the printing surface.
If it resembles fuzzy carved felt, then you have a pre-ink. When
pressed pre-inkers only travel about 1/8" to make contact with the
paper. Manufacturers claim that they are re-inkable, however it is
difficult. Since the die plate is sealed at its creation, you can
not recreate the heat and pressure necessary to get a full load of ink
back in. If re-inking is attempted, we are quite sure that you
will not be satisfied with the result. These kinds of stamps are
usually higher priced then self-inking stamps.
Question - What is a "High-Yield" or
"Flash" stamp?
A flash stamp is similar to a pre-inked
stamp with one major difference. When you turn over the flash
stamp, you will notice that the stamp appears to have a thin film of
plastic on the bottom where the ink seeps through to make the
impression. It will travel about the same distance as the
pre-inked stamp however it can be re-inked because it is not made with
heat and pressure. These stamps use an internal ink pad that sits
just behind the membrane and holds the ink. Flash stamps can be
made in larger sizes than self inking stamps since they do not require
the space to "flip" the die plate, but they are generally more
expensive.
Question - What is a "Woodmount" or
"Traditional Hand Stamp"?
Woodmounts are the old faithfuls of the
stamp industry and are sometimes referred to simply as "rubber stamps".
A separate ink pad is required with these. The main advantage of
the hand stamp is that virtually any size can be made. With self
inkers, pre-inks and flash stamps we must make your information conform
to the size of the stamp. With woodmounts we can make the stamp
conform to the size of your information. If you need a stamp to be
exactly 3-7/8" long x 1/8" high and no bigger or smaller, then a
woodmount is the stamp for you. Many times, because of specialty
inks, a pre-ink or self inking stamp will not work. These inks can
do damage to the mechanisms of self inkers and are not recommended in
this application. But woodmounts work great!
Question - How do you re-ink a self inking stamp?
We recommend that you do this at the
end of the work day. This will give the new ink time to settle for
a few hours, eliminating the risk of having a blotchy image from too
much ink sitting on the surface of the pad. Re-inking a self inker is
quite easy. Once you have done it once you'll be a pro!
Here's a few easy steps to follow.
- Compress the stamp about 1/8". This will move the die plate off of the ink pad so that it won't drag across the ink pad when you are removing it.
- From either side, push the ink pad out and lay it down next to the stamp. You will probably notice that your inkpad has developed a "memory" of what the information on your die plate looks like. Try to keep the pad oriented in the same direction that you took it out.
- Using proper water-based ink (PLEASE don't use quick drying ink in your self inkers!) wet the pad. We sell bottles of ink that come with an eye-dropper style tip to make it easier to use. We don't recommend using a roller ball ink bottle on these little pads. You will end up with ink up to your elbow. Save the roller ball bottle for those ink pads that you use with your woodmounts.
- Allow the pad to sit out overnight, or at least for a few hours, if you can. It will not dry up in that time. This is to allow the ink to fully saturate, settle and spread evenly throughout the whole ink pad.
- Depress the top of the stamp again. If you look through the hole where the ink pad is going to go you will see how the die plate moves out of the way and gives you a clear path to reinsert the ink pad. Try to put the ink pad back in the way you took it out so that the hills and valleys of the ink pad match up with the hills and valleys of the die plate. If you haven't matched them up you will know right away. When you print with your stamp, the image will have parts missing. To fix this, just take the ink pad back out, turn it around 180° and put it back in again.
Question - I'm trying to stamp on glossy paper, and it is not drying.
My information smears and makes a mess. Can you help?
Yes we can! The reason why the
ink is not drying is because most stamps are made with a water-based
ink. Glossy papers, photographs and similar stocks are coated with
a kind of shellac that seals the paper making it non-porous. It is
similar to trying to write on a piece of glass with a regular felt
marker. It will never dry. You could come back to that nice
shiny catalogue in 6 months and still be able to rub off your imprint.
Here's the fix. We have specially formulated inks that are meant
to be used on those pesky shiny surfaces. The big difference is
that they use an alcohol type substance instead of water for a thinner
and pigments instead of dies. What this means is that, when you
stamp your catalogue the alcohol part evaporates away and the pigment
(colour) part dries up and sticks to the surface. And they don't
rub off! There are hundreds of specialty inks available.
They range from food safe inks all the way up to a two-part epoxy that
can only be removed by a grinder!
Question - Can special
typestyles, logos or even signatures be put on a stamp?
Absolutely! We can put just about
anything on a stamp, short of a photograph. You logo or image has
to be a clean, black and white piece. No shade of grey. If
in doubt, call us or email your artwork to us and we will tell you
whether or not it can be used.
Question - What is the warranty on these stamps?
At T.S.T. Rubber Stamp we warranty all
Colop and Trodat stamps for life. See our warranty page below for
more detailed information. Naturally things like abuse or overuse
(ie. using a small plastic stamp hundreds of times a day where a heavy
duty metal stamp is called for) are not covered. Simply send the
product back to us, with an explanation, and we will do everything we
can to make it right.
Question - What
is the name of our Shipping Department Supervisor?
Ginger!
She has a Masters Degree in Pub-lick Relations and loves long walks
along the river. She also serves on our board of directors and
heads up the complaints de-bark-ment!
(teaser)