Rubber stamps
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A rubber stamp is an
image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanized onto a sheet of rubber. Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of
ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thi ...
made of
dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
or pigment is applied to rubber stamp. The rubber is often mounted onto a more stable object such as a wood, brick or an acrylic block. Increasingly the vulcanized rubber image with an adhesive foam backing is attached to a cling vinyl sheet which allows it to be used with an acrylic handle for support. These cling rubber stamps can be stored in a smaller amount of space and typically cost less than the wood mounted versions. They can also be positioned with a greater amount of accuracy due to the stamper's ability to see through the handle being used. Temporary stamps with simple designs can be carved from a potato. The
ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thi ...
-coated rubber stamp is pressed onto any type of medium such that the colored
image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
is transferred to the medium. The medium is generally some type of fabric or paper. Other media used are wood, metal, glass, plastic, and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
. High-volume batik uses liquid wax instead of ink on a metal stamp. Commercially available rubber stamps fall into three categories: stamps for use in the office, stamps used for decorating objects or those used as children's toys.


Business rubber stamps

There are three distinct types of rubber stamps: traditional, where the pad is in a separate container from the stamp; Self-inking stamps, which have a self-contained die that rests against the pad until the die is flipped 180 degrees to make an imprint; and pre-inked stamps, where the die itself is actually impregnated with the ink. Rubber stamps for business commonly show an address, corporate logo and business registration number. Some stamps also have movable parts that allow the user to adjust the date or the wording of the stamp. They are used to date incoming mail, as well as to denote special handling for documents. In some countries it is common practice for formal documents such as contracts to be rubber-stamped over the signature as additional evidence of authenticity. The objective is to authenticate the contracts, prevent forging, and increases efficiency as company executives do not have to separately sign individual company documents. Business stamps are generally available from stationers or direct from the manufacturer. Popular stamps include address stamps, standard word stamps such as received or payment due, and dater stamps. These stamps make up almost 30% sold annually.


Other applications

Rubber stamps are not exclusively used in the business world. Applications range from education to animals to the food and drinks industry. A few are listed below but there are many more outside of this list. * Education stamps * Dietary requirements on food packaging * Stamping food, e.g. meats (with food grade ink, e.g. Noris 111 meat marking ink) * Loyalty stamps * Arts and crafts, e.g. stamping impressions into soaps and clay * Textiles * Animal marking, e.g. pigeons before racing


Automated rubber stamps

Document marking can be done from within the user's word processor. This can be done manually by creating the "stamps" to appear on the documents in automated document marking software for Microsoft Word. This allows each page to be stamped as it is printed with the user selected stamps created electronically.


As an art form

Other materials besides rubber may be used to produce a stamp. Woodcut and linocut, the carving of linoleum, are art forms based on the same principles. Linoleum is much harder than rubber and thus requires special tools. Woodcut is mostly used by professional artists, requiring much talent and patience. Rubber carving material can be purchased, but is marketed as a child's toy and not widely used. Additionally, photopolymer stamps are growing in popularity. They are most often produced in a set of coordinated images using a clear polymer material on an acetate carrier sheet for storage and packaging. The stamps are peeled from the carrier sheet and applied to a clear acrylic handle. This allows the stamper to view the image through the handle and effect precise placement of the image where desired. Photopolymer stamps are generally produced in the United States for sale domestically and internationally. Similar clear stamps made of silicone are produced by U.S. companies in China. Silicone stamps have many of the same properties of the photopolymer stamps. The production of clear stamps makes storage of a large collection of images easier, since they are all used with just one set of various sized handles. They are also often very economical being produced in sets of several images which work together to form a cohesive look. And also made of brass metal, a very valuable example of which is by Ali Razi Hamedani and named Gholam Razi Hamedani, which was displayed on her Twitter page as alphi_ir. There are several possibilities to vary the look of carved stamps. Paints, pigments and dye inks create different effects, extending the use of rubber stamping from paper to fabrics, wood, metal, glass, and so on. Ink pads can be purchased that allow for
embossing Emboss or Embossing may refer to: Materials The term usually refers to several techniques for creating a raised pattern on a material: *Paper embossing, the raising of paper and other non-metal products using specific tools to accomplish the task ...
and there are markers that can be used to ink stamp pads with colors for a multi-color look. The use of rubber stamps can be combined with other materials. The
image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
may be embellished by the addition of chalks,
ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thi ...
s,
paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...
s, fibers and a variety of other
ephemera Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...
and embellishments. Hand-carved rubber stamps are often used in mail art or artist trading cards because they tend to be small and allow the making of series. The
TAM Rubber Stamp Archive TAM may refer to: Biology * Thioacetamide, an organosulfur compound * Tumor-associated macrophage, a class of immune cells * Transparent Anatomical Manikin, an educational model Technology * Tanque Argentino Mediano, the main battle tank of Arge ...
has a collection of prints of rubber stamps mail-artists used since 1983 (see link). Stamping is also often used in handmade cardmaking,
scrapbooking Scrapbooking is a method of preserving, presenting and arranging personal and family history in the form of a book, box or card. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequ ...
, and letterboxing.


Stamping communities

Stamping has become a very popular home based craft, and there are a number of forums, some with many thousands of members. Craft stampers tend to be associated with other paper crafts, such as card making and scrapbooking.


See also

*
Seal (device) A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with a ...
*
Where's George Where's George? is a website that tracks the natural geographic circulation of American paper money. Its popularity has led to the establishment of a number of other currency tracking websites and sites that track other objects, such as used bo ...
, an American website that utilises rubber stamped dollar bills to track the movement of currency around the world


References


External links


TAM Rubber Stamp Archive

Stempelherstellung
{{Authority control Handicrafts Paper art Relief printing Craft materials