Ink Stamper brands are popular these days. Some of the major brands of inkjet stamps are Trodat, Ideal, Xstamper, Ultimark, Schwaab, and Shiny. Each of these rubber stamp brands has its own unique ink formulation that makes the product inked, stamped and printed for thousands of high quality impressions. One of the most reported problems in custom rubber stamp manufacturing circles is when a provider gets a call that their Trodat or Ideal print impression is not printing clear anymore. The most common comment is that the print is bold in some areas and in some areas no impression at all. A manufacturer that has been around for a while immediately knows what happened. The problem with the ink stamp is that most self-inking rubber stamps are equipped with photopolymer printing plates. However, end users of these self-inking stamps tend to think the ink is ink and they will pick up the nearest ink around them and reprint their stamp. Xstamper, Schwaab or Ultimark ink will cause the Photopolymer printing die plate to swell over time in Trodat Mechanical and Ideal stamps. The end user always thinks that there is something wrong with the original quality of the product when in reality that was not the case.

The sad moral of this story is that when the mechanical, self-inking, tipping up and down messes with these wrong inks, the end user has in essence ruined the product. Technically, the printing die plate can be replaced. The ink pad inside the product can also be replaced. But the cost of a remanufactured printing plate, a new ink pad, the cost of shipping the product back to the manufacturer, and the cost of sending it back to the customer exceeds the cost of a new stamper. So dear ink stamp user, if you have a self inking mechanical plastic body stamp, just be sure not to put the wrong ink in your stamp. If it’s an ideal, Trodat Printy, or glossy Stamper, Ideal Ink works well. If you have an Xstamper, use Xstamper ink. If you have Schwaab, use only Schwaab ink. If you have an Ultimark, use only Ultimark Ink. Self-inking rubber stamps will last for years if they are taken care of and the user puts the right ink in them when needed. Failure means you will run into problems and it will cost you dearly having to replace your Trodat or Ideal ink stamp every time.