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Digi stamps are rally just black & white computer graphics, usually line art. They're really not much different than the clipart that you probably already use if you do word processing or anything like that (although all the digi stamps I've accumulated are better quality/higher resolution than most of the clipart I've seen). You don't need Design Studio to print them out, but if you already have it, they can be used in Design Studio.
I have a blank table set up in Word that I insert them into and print them off on cardstock, but you can also find free programs online to accomplish the same thing (Picasa is one that works pretty well).
Do you buy them or can you get them online for free?
Some sites offer them free, some are to be paid for. If you google "free digi stamps" you can find some of the sites with the free ones; there is also a digital stamping forum here at SCS that includes posts of free digis and a list of companies. Some companies that sell them have a few freebies available for you to test.
You can also go to free clipart sites and coloring pages can be resized. I thought I would never pay for a digi stamp with all the free stuff that's available, but some of them are so darned cute that I had to cave.
Here is a site that I use a lot. Free Digital Stamps
You can even subscribe to their email, and they have a search box, so you can search for a specific image. Digital Stamping - Splitcoaststampers The digital stamping forum is listed right underneath the general stamping title, and it is very helpful!!!
I am going now to take a look at them. now when you buy them do you just download them and do they cost as much as if you have the stamp. with being digital I did not know if they are a lot less then buying stamps.
I am going now to take a look at them. now when you buy them do you just download them and do they cost as much as if you have the stamp. with being digital I did not know if they are a lot less then buying stamps.
my experience is that they ae quite a bit less than tradtional stamps.
I have bought some from some folks on Etsy, Pink Petticoat, Pink Cat Studios, annnd I am just going to stop there.... I went a bit bonkers. So far Etsy seems like a great place to find a whole bunch of different styles!
There is a blog called Bird's Cards, or Bird's Blog. You can find it on google or Yahoo. Anyway, she has a CRAZY amount of free sentiments, papers, and images for free. Very generous lady. All she asks is a pic of what you create with her stuff!
there are also digital papers, which I am loving as well!
There are so many places to find digis, and they cost a LOT less than rubber or acrylic...
- Some Odd Girl has a lot of cute images (about $3 each)
- InStyle Stamps has some fun ones
- You can go to Digi Chick and they have lots of papers, etc to downlopad digitally.
- Mo's Digital Pencil has a lot of beautiful images, especially if you are into colouring
There is a huge world of the out there!
__________________ Check out my blog for ramblings and samples: here
Make sure you visit the Digi forum here on Splitcoast. A poster has created a thread listing tons of sites. Also post there if you are looking for a particular image, and your fellow stampers are happy to share their thoughts.
Happy Digi Stamping!
Karen S
I really don't get the point in Digi Stamps, aren't they just better quality clip art? I personally would rather have a wood or clear block in my hand. Your cards wouldn't be as handmade if you did use them, would they?
__________________ Lauren Live to stamp, stamp to live!
I really don't get the point in Digi Stamps, aren't they just better quality clip art? I personally would rather have a wood or clear block in my hand. Your cards wouldn't be as handmade if you did use them, would they?
Some people prefer stamping their images manually. Some prefer to have a printer stamp the image. To me, its the same. We stampers didn't create the art ourselves (for the most part), so to me, how we get it on the paper is irrelevant. What is done with the image after its on paper is the point of the craft - at least in my opinion. I don't think that my cards are any less "handmade" than one that is manually stamped. I colour the image, I choose my papers, I add all the embellishments, I glue it all together. Exact same process as if I used a rubber stamp instead of my printer. As far as it being clipart, I guess "technically" it could be classified at clipart. Its just that clipart seems to have a negative connotation to it. What I've read from some digi stamp artists is that they take offense to having their artwork called clipart. The art is the same as what is developed for a rubber or clear stamp. Its just not pressed into rubber or processed in photopolymer. I love using digi stamps. They're so much easier to store (I guess that's why I have hundreds of them) and a lot cheaper. I still use my "physical" stamps too and love them. There are still some die hard old-school stampers that will not accept digi stamps, but to each their own. I'm an equal opportunity crafter. Anything that helps me create what I have envisioned in my head is fair game.
Do you print them off??? Or do you need a design studio or something like that?? Thanks!!
I have quite a few links on my blog to sites that provide excellent explanations about digis and how to use them. Click PaperFriendly: Digital Stamp Basics
Go to Labels on my blog and click Digital Stamps (Free) for links to sites having free digis.
I really don't get the point in Digi Stamps, aren't they just better quality clip art? I personally would rather have a wood or clear block in my hand. Your cards wouldn't be as handmade if you did use them, would they?
Technically, they probably are just "better quality clipart", but I'd say MUCH better quality. I myself prefer rubber, but the digis have a lot going for them - you can resize them as needed for whatever project you're doing, you can mirror them so they face the other way, I had one that was a little girl in a football jersey where I erased the number on the jersey and changed it to a number I liked better.
As far as your cards not being as handmade, check out the Hambo Hoedown blog - I challenge you to pick out the cards that are made with digi images and which are made with rubber stamps. You can't tell a difference.
correct me if I am wrong, but digi stamps are at a minimum of 300dpi. anything less is clip art. anything less would look bad.
I suppose one could compare a PC to the typewriter. Some folks like their PC and some folks like their typerwriters.
as a beginner, I am still playing with both techniques. In fact, I am inclined to argue that the opportunities affrded to me by digital stamps has opened a door to an entirely new spectrum of crafting that I eschewed in the past. My sole reason for ignoring it in the past is because of the cost associated with starting a new craft. If it wasn't for generous digi stampers, I wouldn't have bothered with the traditional stamps.
correct me if I am wrong, but digi stamps are at a minimum of 300dpi. anything less is clip art. anything less would look bad.
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Not necessarily - depending on how large the original image is and how large you want to print it, less than 300 dpi can be just fine. As a matter of fact, some printers aren't capable of printing at that resolution.
Think of it this way - if you have an original image that was a coloring page, sized at 8x10 with resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch) and you shrink that image down for a card to 2 x 2.5 (1/4 the size), the resolution is now 4 times as much (288 dpi). The lower resolution becomes a problem when you have a 2" square image drawn at 72 dpi and you want to enlarge it to 4" square - now you have only 36 dpi and the image is going to start looking funny - jaggedy lines. Clipart was drawn at 72 dpi back in the day because that matched the resolution of computer screens.
Not necessarily - depending on how large the original image is and how large you want to print it, less than 300 dpi can be just fine. As a matter of fact, some printers aren't capable of printing at that resolution.
Think of it this way - if you have an original image that was a coloring page, sized at 8x10 with resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch) and you shrink that image down for a card to 2 x 2.5 (1/4 the size), the resolution is now 4 times as much (288 dpi). The lower resolution becomes a problem when you have a 2" square image drawn at 72 dpi and you want to enlarge it to 4" square - now you have only 36 dpi and the image is going to start looking funny - jaggedy lines. Clipart was drawn at 72 dpi back in the day because that matched the resolution of computer screens.
Good info to stash in the back of my head! Thank you so much. SO the 300dpi is more of a suggestion than a true standard. The way you are explaining it, 300dpi has the most flexibility in terms of resizing. is that right??
Good info to stash in the back of my head! Thank you so much. SO the 300dpi is more of a suggestion than a true standard. The way you are explaining it, 300dpi has the most flexibility in terms of resizing. is that right??
Probably true If you have a piece of freebie clipart that you want to try, download it and size it to the size you want and print it out and see how it works. Once it's printed, colored and on a card, no one is going to know or care whether it's an official digital stamp or a piece of clipart.
What are digi stamps??
