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The Different Types of Rubber Stamps
Rate it! Votes (1) | Comments (0) By Cheri Sicard Photos: Mitch Mandell Posted July 1st, 2008

There are an infinite number of rubber stamp designs available in an almost equally infinite number of sizes for creative rubber stamping. The possibilities are literally endless!

There are, however, a more limited number of rubber stamp types. This page will help you get acquainted with the various types of stamps available for today's crafters.

Wood Block Stamps -- Rubber stamps mounted on a wood block (like the ones in the photo at left) are the rubber stamps most of us are familiar with. You probably played with them as a child and they still work great today. The stamps consist of a rubber dye with a sheet of cushioning material, mounted on a wooden block. There is a huge variety of these stamps available in all sizes, degrees of intricacy, and price ranges. Some like the top right stamp in the photo at left show the image colored in as a suggestion of how you might use the design, but you can color the image any way you like.

Background Stamps -- Large rubber stamps like the squash and pumpkin stamp in the top left corner of the photo above can be used to make background paper for cards, scrapbooks or other paper crafts.

Border Stamps -- Long stamps like the one on the left center of the photo above can be used for borders. String them together (with the help of a stamp positioning tool) to make one long continuous border.

Outline Stamps -- Most of the stamps in the photo above, with the exception of the grapes, are outline stamps. These stamps produce a printed image that is outlined. Some, like the lace and seashell stamps in the photo above, include shading in the form of dots or lines.

Solid Stamps -- Solid stamps, like the grapes in the photo above, have much less detail than outline stamps. Still they have many great artistic uses.

Clear Stamps with Acrylic Mounting Blocks -- We love using these stamps and get them whenever possible. Self clinging dies slip on and off acrylic mounts, which are conveniently marked for centering purposes. Since you can see through the clear mounting block, placement is simple. To clean just wash die and acrylic block with soapy water and the stamps are ready for next time.

Foam Stamps -- Foam stamps, like the yellow checkerboard stamp on the top right of the photo at right, usually come mounted on a heavy sheet of flexible acrylic. They are much less expensive than other types of stamps, as they are made from cheap materials. Nonetheless, they can yield great results and will last a long time if you take care of them.

Roller Stamps -- The purple gadget in the photo at right that looks somewhat like a pizza cutter is a roller stamp. As you roll the interchangeable stamp wheel you get one continuous imprint. You can either keep re-inking the wheel (good when making short stripes of images) or use an inexpensive cartridge designed to fit in the rolling tool for continuous inking for as long as you want to roll.

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