Rubber, transparent and foam seals – what is the difference between them? Each is made from a different material, giving each one different properties. Knowing and understanding these characteristics will help you ensure you achieve the best possible results for your projects.
The biggest difference between rubber or foam stamps and clear stamps (also referred to as polymer or photo polymer) is that Clear, transparent, allowing you to look straight through the stamp and see exactly where you are stamping. With rubber and foam stamps, in order to stamp your image exactly where you want it, you need to use a tool called Stamp-a-ma-jig.
When you get ready to stamp with your various stamps – you’ll notice that the components you need vary. For example, Clear stamps are naturally sticky – All you need to use it is a clear acrylic block – the stamp will naturally cling to it. With rubber, you need some kind of clamping system. For example, with wood-mount rubber seals, the rubber is attached to the wood block using self-adhesive foam. For unmounted stamps, you should have some means of affixing the rubberized image to the acrylic block – this could include cling foam, or some other adhesive system. With foam, you also need something to hold the seal on – generally they are already installed on either a foam block or a clear acrylic sheet.
When it comes to stamping all three types of stamps, you will usually find this Rubber stamps are best for stamping fine details. Now notice that I said stamp the details. I’m not referring to stamping small images – you can stamp very small images with acrylic stamps. The word “detail” refers to the fine lines of shading that you can see in some photorealistic stamp images. Polymer is a softer material, and while you can get pretty detailed, it doesn’t allow for the same kind of fine detail as with rubber stamps. The foam, doesn’t really allow for detail at all. In fact, when you see foam stamps, most of the time you see solid images. You’ll also notice with foam stamps that the images aren’t quite as sharp—instead of clearly defined edges, they’ll often look softer.
Another difference is in the durability of each of the different materials. Rubber is by far the most durable material. If taken care of properly, it will last a lifetime and even longer. With stamps in the clear, there are two things you need to be aware of. The first is that not all acrylic stamps are created equally. There are high and low quality acrylic stamps. Poor quality acrylic stamps will yellow and harden over time, and even lose their stickiness. With all acrylic seals—including high-quality acrylic seals—you have to take a little extra care in handling as they can tear or stretch, and you want to make sure you use them correctly for best results.
The final difference, partly related to durability, is the types of color media you can use with the different types of stamps. While you can use all stamps with most common media, Rubber seals allow you some more specialized techniques than the other two. For example – stamping with bleach – something that can be done safely with rubber, but not without damaging the other two types of stamps. Even using Staz On – a solvent-based ink, is questionable when it comes to erasing stamps. There has been some debate as to whether Staz On, or more specifically the specialized cleaner used to clean Staz On, can cause long-term damage to your clear stamps.
So with all this discussion about the differences – does this mean that one type of stamp is better than another or do I recommend one type over the other? of course not. Each type of stamp has its pros and cons, and each type has its place in the paper industry. You just want to make sure that you understand the differences, and that you understand how to properly use and care for each type.