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. . . for those of you who have gone 100% unmounted, how much of your decision to do so was based on storage issues? If you had the extra space, would you prefer mounted?
DH and I work overseas, so in the beginning it was a shipping weight and space issue. However, once I started unmounting, I realized how much easier it is to position stamps with the acrylic blocks. I also like being able to "doctor" my images - some I'm able to cut apart to use pieces of the image separately, yet still put it back together puzzle-style on my acrylic block to use as a whole (if that makes any sense). Much more versatile! Even if I had a big house with a stamping room all to myself, I still wouldn't go back to wood mounted. Besides, it's much easier to hide just how many sets I actually own from DH this way! :lol:
While I love the convenience & feel of a wood mounted stamp, for me it is impractical to have all wood mounteds. Part of this is the cost ..... the cost of the stamps themselves & also the cost of postage ..... living in Australia it costs soooo much more to get wood mounteds posted from the States or other country then it does ums ..... sometimes this can be a massive difference. Because I own a lot of stamps this is another reason why I prefer ums ...... they take up less space to store
. Another question . . . for those of you who have gone 100% unmounted, how much of your decision to do so was based on storage issues? If you had the extra space, would you prefer mounted?
Storage wa about 90% of my decision. Once I tried it I'll NEVER go back. I LOVE unmounted! I love the ease of use, and how I rarely ever "miss the mark" anymore, even when not using clears. I love the lower price of the rubber. I love what's available in unmounted.
Someone mentioned the mess of unmounted, and I have to disagree. I use EZ mount and there's nothing cleaner or easier to use. No cleaning goo off blocks at all.
I store my rubber in photo albums with the old fashioned "Magic cling" pages. I fit what used to fill my entire cabinet in 6 albums on 1/2 of the top shelf, and threw away a TRUCKLOAD of wood, no exageration.
__________________ He set His STAMP of ownership on us, and put His spirit in our hearts as a deposit 2 Cor 1:22Jan
All wood mounted for me! I feel you get a better image, and I like to have them ready to go. It probably isn't tons of work to mount them each time, but it's an extra step I don't want to take each time I want to use an image. I never seem to have trouble getting the image where I want it, and if I want it in a very specific spot, I just use the stamp-a-ma-jig. I have used both, and I will stick with wood mounted.
And JanTink has a point- more than 60% have most or all wood mounted. Now we just need a survey for the people that said most wood mounted and see what percentage of their stamps are wood and which percentage are unmounted.
I am 100% unmounted and will never, never go back to wood mounted.
It has been stated that you get a better image with wood mounts but if you think about it, is there physically that much difference between a wood block and an acrylic block? I would think the image would be the same because the rubber does not know if it is on a wood or acrylic!!! Please enllighten me if I am missing something here.
I don't think my images come out any less clear and crisp on my unmounted stamps than when I used wood blocks! Plus they are positioned exactly where I want them...
__________________ Sally Taylor, Fun Stampers Journey Coach #1118
I voted 50:50, but that's a bit deceptive as I am in the process of unmounting all of the wooden stamps that I've acquired in the past 7 years of stamping. I currently preferentially buy unmounted stamps (either come already with EZ mount or I put it on). I just prefer being able to place the stamp anywhere I want. I have not had issues with clear stamps (Autumn Leaves, CTMH), or unmounted wood stamps.
I am 100% unmounted and will never, never go back to wood mounted.
It has been stated that you get a better image with wood mounts but if you think about it, is there physically that much difference between a wood block and an acrylic block? I would think the image would be the same because the rubber does not know if it is on a wood or acrylic!!! Please enllighten me if I am missing something here.
I think they are referring to the difference between clear stamps and nicely etched rubber, which, IMO, makes a big difference.
So far, you just cannot get a good image with sharp detail in clear stamps. Which is why SU! has not gone clear; they have repeatedly told us that the technology does not come up to their standards yet...probably if the technology improves enough they will. The companies that produce clear stamps, for the most part, stay away from certain kinds of images because they don't stamp well when made into clear stamps.
I've bought some of the cheapie stamps from Michael's and the image is fuzzy when stamped. It just doesn't have clean crisp edges. They are *okay*, but I'm not thrilled with them. I know that that is mostly because with clear stamps, you get what you pay for, but I've had similar problems with Autumn Leaves stamps.
One of the other problems I have with clear stamps is knowing whether I've really contacted the paper thoroughly...I've found myself peering through the acrylic block trying to decide whether the ink has really transferred properly. Add to that the "objects seen through the acrylic block are closer than they appear" phenomenon and I end up messing up plenty of cardstock trying to stamp correctly because the stamp touches the paper before I get it lined up the way I want it.
With rubber stamps, I find if I design my cards so that the cardstock piece I'm stamping on is the same size as the block on the stamp, I get perfect placement without having to worry about using a SAJ. I save the SAJ for those times when I can't get good placement any other way.
And when I tried coloring a nice set of paisley images I got from CTMH with my markers, I ended up with a globby lookin' mess! The ink puddled up on the stamp and just did not look good.
It's not that I hate clear stamps...I just prefer rubber stamps. And since I don't want to keep collecting images until the cows come home (I find I use only a certain number of images at any given time, so selling off the stamps I don't use any more so I can buy new images makes more sense for me) the storage issue isn't one I struggle with. I can certainly see that for other people it is an issue, but it's not an issue that I have.
I unmount anything that I get that is already mounted and I don't bother with SU's wood. I would love for SU to offer a discount for purchasing a set with no wood. I can understand why they don't want to go clear, but I would love to save a buck or two and not deal with wood.
I also unmount anything I get. I have a box of wood mounts that I can't decide what to do with. I also have many never been touched SU wood mounts. I'd like it if they would offer the choice of wood or not wood -- save a tree.;) I don't need them to be clear nor cut -- I can cut them out. I just have no use for the wood.
__________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
I think about 80% of my stamps are unmounted. Since I discovered unmounted (a little over a year ago) I've only bought ONE mounted stamp (a large giraffee for my husband). I did NOT unmount any of my SU sets though, but have not bought any more. I did, however, recieve about 10 SU sets as a gift- and I mounted those.
My theory is - if it comes with wood, it goes on wood. Otherwise, unmounted.
SU has priced me out of their stamps. Craft stores priced me out of individual wood stamps from the beginning- they've always been too expensive for me.
I'm glad to have found TAC for unmounted- but think I will probably let my demoship lapse so I can spend elsewhere (papertrey, stampingbella, gina K) without feeling guilty!
I like unmounted because of the storage issue and ease of placement. Even if I had lots of storage room, I just love that my entire collection fits easily on my desk and is at arm reach.
__________________ Jennifer - member 8504
Fan Club member
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. Victor Hugo
BTW, thanks for all of your replies to my OP. Another question . . . for those of you who have gone 100% unmounted, how much of your decision to do so was based on storage issues? If you had the extra space, would you prefer mounted?
Initially I had started unmounting my stamps because we were thinking of starting a family. We have two extra rooms on the main floor and one is the office and the other is my stamping room. My stamping room would have been a baby's room so I wanted to condense my stamps into a much smaller space. I already have a stamp cabinet that my mom made me, but I was thinking I could use that to store all of the OTHER stamping stuff. Well, now we aren't adding a two-legged so I don't have to have my stamps unmounted, but I really like having my stamps unmounted (using the EZ Mount cushion). I like having all of my stamps organized in front of me, the fact that I can bring several sets when traveling without them weighing me down, ease of use... (Although I also still use my Stamp a ma Jig.) I don't find that using unmounted stamps takes any more time than using wood mounted. I'm not AGAINST wood mounted stamps (like some seem to be about unmounted), as I still have to purchase a lot of my stamps that way. For me, the type of acrylic block makes the difference too. I have one of the CTMH blocks and it is so nice. I think some of my other blocks are the Ultra Clear blocks from Sunday International. They also have the nice hour glass shape like wood mounts. I have some of the thinner bevel edged blocks, but I don't like them as well. The block does make all the difference.
__________________ "There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness." -- Dave Barry
I have mostly wood mounted w/ a few TAC and one clear set. I love wood mounted, because I only have to put it on the block once, and therefore not have to fiddle w/ getting it straight on the block everytime. The other issue is figuring out what exactly is on the stamp and which direction it should go (some are less obvious than others:rolleyes. (I know I need to index the few I have...maybe they'd get used more often). Also, when cleaning the unmounteds, sometimes the image comes off the block, or the block has to be cleaned too....it's all just frustrating and too time consuming for me.
I understand and respect why so many are going unmounted, but I think it's all a matter of what works for an individual.
most of mine are unmounted, and it's a work in progress to finish. I'm having a hard time wanting to unmount the ones that have a nice colored index label (Penny Black, some Hero Arts, Whipper Snapper, etc). Not sure if I'm gonna UM those.
All my SU stamps are wood mounted, and will stay that way (I had to buy the wood anyway!). I do have some unmounted stamps, backed with EZ cling, from Lizzie Anne and Pink Cat Studios, which I love, and a few acrylic $1 stamps from Michael's, which I am NOT crazy about. Just this weekend, I attended the Stamp/Scrap Art tour in Pennsauken, NJ, and bought mostly unmounted stamps, because I got more for my spending dollars that way. If SU had a less expensive option for unmounted, then I'd really have to think about it.
While I don't particularly mind buying um, whether polymer or rubber, my preference is mounted, and most of my stamp collection reflects that. I just checked the poll, and 68% of the respondents have either all or most of their stamps wood mounted. (keeping in mind that my math is shaky at best!) Interesting, lol.
Dont' beat me with a wet noodle, but how accurate is that percentage? As of right now, there have been 232 people that responded to the poll - not enough to give a true analysis. Plus, who knows how many times some of the same people have voted... Just my opinion.
__________________ Sally Taylor, Fun Stampers Journey Coach #1118
Dont' beat me with a wet noodle, but how accurate is that percentage? As of right now, there have been 232 people that responded to the poll - not enough to give a true analysis. Plus, who knows how many times some of the same people have voted... Just my opinion.
Isn't there a magic number out there that is the minimum number of people you have to poll to get an accurate sampling of the population? Does anyone know what it is? Any statisticians out there? Also, does the forum poll tool allow you to vote more than once? At least, if you are a registered user?
(BTW, there will be no wet noodle beatings. I believe that pretty much everything, SCS forum polls included, should be taken with at least a grain (if not a rock) of salt.
Unless you have multiple user names, how can you vote more than once in a SCS poll? Once I click the vote button, every time I revisit a thread I see the results. Never an option to vote a second time.
Unless you have multiple user names, how can you vote more than once in a SCS poll? Once I click the vote button, every time I revisit a thread I see the results. Never an option to vote a second time.
You can't, and having multiple user names is against the Terms of Service of Splitcoast. Nobody who was a true *fan* of SCS would violate TOS, right?
I've noticed on SCS that once a poll has more than about 50 votes, the percentages stay pretty much the same. So I'd say that this one is a pretty accurate reflection of what's going on right now.
So sorry for the error on the poll voting - everyone makes them at some point And thank you PinkyPapers - I agree everything should be taken with a grain of salt...
__________________ Sally Taylor, Fun Stampers Journey Coach #1118
I love my wood and hate mounting and remounting my stamps!!!
I have a few clear ones and they are a PAIN! I like to grab my wood mounted, keep it inky if I want, clean it if I want, leave it out all over the place if I want. I hate the maintenance of unmounted!!! I just can't be that neat!
Oh, and I like using SU's classic ink which doesn't always work well on the clear!
That said, more power to those who can leave theirs unmounted and enjoy! That's a great feature of SUs sets coming separate from the blocks... we all have choices!
I unmounted ALL my stamps last Fall. I have never regretted it for one minute. Love this system for me!!
Same here! Have not regretted it one bit. I did not unmount my alphabet sets or my big background stamps--I was sick of unmounting at that point. ;-) But any new stamps I get go straight to just being unmounted.
My vote is misleading - most of the sets I currently own are wood mounted, but that's because until very recently, I was (for some reason) deathly afraid of unmounted stamps. I resisted and resisted and finally gave in to the Bella's (thanks, Em - see the monstor you created?) and now I can't imagine why I waited this long to try them.
In the first flush of realization that I loved unmounted, I tried all kinds and discovered that, for me, the rubber unmounted stamps are the best, so I joined TAC and now have all the zeal of a convert, much to DH's dismay.
The only thing preventing me from unmouting my collection is laziness (yes, I admit it - the very thought of it is just toooo overwhelming)
I have mostly wood mounted stamps. I have a set of clear CTMH stamps which I love the words, but don't like the way they stamp. I do purchase unmounted stamps, then promptly find a wood block and mount them. My favorite method for getting image on the wood block is to stamp if craft ink (usually choc. chip.) then clear emboss. Gives a wonderful nice raised image. Then I mount the rubber. I have a couple of unmounted stamps I probably won't mount, but then if I did maybe I'd use them more..... :-)
__________________
~~~ Barbara~~~ ~~Case me if you please~~100% great trades~~
I voted for mostly wood/some unmounted! I'm toying with the idea of unmounting all my woodies, but I'm skeered!
Amber,
Face your fears and you can conquer them.:p
I am almost entirely finished with unmounting all my stamps (and that is a lot). I did a test the other day. I have all my SU stamps in one CD case per set. I was able to fit 26 cases in a photo box I bought at Michaels. What is scary is that I probably need at least five or six boxes for all my stamps.
I did leave a few larger stamps and my background stamps on wood (so far). That might change sometime in the future.
Now to find a home for the wood blocks. I am taking the time to sand the residue off and will try selling them in the BST forum to see if anyone needs them.
Good luck with your decision. I haven't regretted it yet and don't imagine I will.
