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Oh this just makes me heart sick. Over the years I've had photopolymer stamps made from designs I submitted. They are just crumbling apart! I had unmounted most of them and moved to cling foam stored in 3 ring binders on laminated sheets. You think that would have been okay.
I know now not to have photopolymer stamps made. The only things I could have done is keep a sheet in between each3 ring laminated board that housed the stamps. That might have kept them from sticking to the board it was next to. Or I could have kept them in a DVD insert box, but that wasn't even available back then.
Hundreds of stamps literally being tossed out. What a gummy, sticky, crumbling mess. I know now to only buy red or gray rubber stamps. 20+ years and they are still fine.
I'm confused. If you had photopolymer stamps and "unmounted" them, what were they mounted to originally? I've never seen a clear stamp that was mounted to something.
I think that storage of the photopolymer stamps is important (I'm thinking of the brands that used to be stored in tins...probably not a good idea). Not all clear stamps are created equal. That can probably be said for red rubber as well.
i've heard those boards aren't good for the stamps. i bought a bunch of them and unmounted a lot of stamp sets and after a while they all lost their cling. That's when I found out the material used to laminate the boards is corrosive to the cling material. thanks a lot, guys!!
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I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
I'm confused. If you had photopolymer stamps and "unmounted" them, what were they mounted to originally? I've never seen a clear stamp that was mounted to something.
I think that storage of the photopolymer stamps is important (I'm thinking of the brands that used to be stored in tins...probably not a good idea). Not all clear stamps are created equal. That can probably be said for red rubber as well.
I had the stamps mounted on wood originally. Then I moved to a smaller house and had to downsize, so I unmounted from the wood, put a lot on foam cushion when that came out and put in binders on the laminate sheets. They all are crumbling apart. Keep in mind these are more than 15 yeaars old too and were very well "loved" and used a lot. Now that I'm going through stuff once again and making room, I see many are just falling apart.
I could have used VCR tape boxes at the time, but that wasn't common back then as the CD/DVD cases are now. We just didn't think of that 20+ years ago!
I'm just sad to see them go. Even the Posh Impressions stamps are falling apart. I urged them not to go to Photopolymer and they did anyhow. From here on in I won't purchase anything but real red (or gray) rubber stamps. They have stood the test of time for me!
I think they fall apart over the years. I had a name stamp that was made for me, it fell apart after probably 10 years. It was mounted on wood from the company.
i've heard those boards aren't good for the stamps. i bought a bunch of them and unmounted a lot of stamp sets and after a while they all lost their cling. That's when I found out the material used to laminate the boards is corrosive to the cling material. thanks a lot, guys!!
If you paint Aileen's Tack it on the cling side of them they will stick again!
I had the stamps mounted on wood originally. Then I moved to a smaller house and had to downsize, so I unmounted from the wood, put a lot on foam cushion when that came out and put in binders on the laminate sheets. They all are crumbling apart. Keep in mind these are more than 15 yeaars old too and were very well "loved" and used a lot. Now that I'm going through stuff once again and making room, I see many are just falling apart.
I could have used VCR tape boxes at the time, but that wasn't common back then as the CD/DVD cases are now. We just didn't think of that 20+ years ago!
I'm just sad to see them go. Even the Posh Impressions stamps are falling apart. I urged them not to go to Photopolymer and they did anyhow. From here on in I won't purchase anything but real red (or gray) rubber stamps. They have stood the test of time for me!
I am confused. Why would you mount photopolymer on wood? they are clear... They cling without being mounted...
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{Gallery}{Blog}
I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
If you paint Aileen's Tack it on the cling side of them they will stick again!
I'm not having trouble with the cling foam. That is still working just fine. It's the photopolymer stamps that are crumbling and tearing apart, not the foam. So far I have had no problem with the cling foam at all. I would recommend keeping a sheet (like the peel off sheet that stuck to the cling foam) in between each laminated board full of stamps. I wish I had at least done that!
I was always a "bargain" shopper over the years. The bargains I've bought over the years have not stood the test of time. There's something to be said for quality products. Now I'd only have real rubber stamps made.
I find now that I appreciate companies like Stampin Up more too. I never bought from them because it was always so pricey. Now I realize the quality is worth the price because it stands the test of time. I wouldn't have been lamenting about all of this if I had done things right in the first place!
My toss pile of photopolymer is growing taller and taller. Now I know...hard lesson learned!
I am confused. Why would you mount photopolymer on wood? they are clear... They cling without being mounted...
Me too...I don't know that I've ever seen photopolymer mounted on anything! But I can say I have had some of my photopolymer stamps turn into a gooey sticky mess. Even though I bought them back in 2006, I contacted the company and they gave me a $75 credit to buy new stamps (they had discontinued the product I had due to poor manufacturing)
I am confused. Why would you mount photopolymer on wood? they are clear... They cling without being mounted...
I found that the clear stamps start tearing over time, especially when I'd go to lift it off of the clear block or the laminated sheet. So I started putting them on foam to reduce on the wear and tear on the photopolymer stamp when I'd go to move it, use it, and move it back. They become very brittle over time. Moving to foam was a way to help reduce on the tearing. The stamps that aren't on the foam are in worse shape than the ones that I did put on the foam cushion. They went straight in the garbage!
I had the stamps mounted on wood originally. Then I moved to a smaller house and had to downsize, so I unmounted from the wood, put a lot on foam cushion when that came out and put in binders on the laminate sheets. They all are crumbling apart. Keep in mind these are more than 15 yeaars old too and were very well "loved" and used a lot. Now that I'm going through stuff once again and making room, I see many are just falling apart.
I could have used VCR tape boxes at the time, but that wasn't common back then as the CD/DVD cases are now. We just didn't think of that 20+ years ago!
I'm just sad to see them go. Even the Posh Impressions stamps are falling apart. I urged them not to go to Photopolymer and they did anyhow. From here on in I won't purchase anything but real red (or gray) rubber stamps. They have stood the test of time for me!
If the storage boards you used. Had acetate sheets. This might be why your stamps are falling apart.
There is something in the ACETATE Sheet's that break down the Cling foam on the Unmounted Rubber stamps. And your stamps will be no good.
Photopolymer is different and can be stored on Acetate.
Unmounted Rubber stamps most of them come with cling foam. You use these with Acrylic Block.
They are like the wood mounted Rubber stamps, But without the wood block.
Photopolymer Stamps are clear stamps. No Cling foam.
Me too...I don't know that I've ever seen photopolymer mounted on anything! But I can say I have had some of my photopolymer stamps turn into a gooey sticky mess. Even though I bought them back in 2006, I contacted the company and they gave me a $75 credit to buy new stamps (they had discontinued the product I had due to poor manufacturing)
LOL...because 18-20 years ago when I had the stamps made they didn't have acrylic blocks. Back then all stamps were on wood mounts. No one openly admitted they had a stamping addiction back then. Not many people knew about rubber stamps in the art world back then! We didn't have cling foam and we used to buy wood, cut the blocks, index the wood, add foam cushion and then get to stamp. The stamping industry back then was really just starting and we didn't have all the cool things we have now That's why!
Also, the photopolymer of 20 years ago wasn't as durable as it is now days. Now that all these stamps have broken down over time (with or without the use of foam, laminated sheets, or simply categorized in envelopes)...all have torn, broken down, crumbled and/or become extremely sticky.
Guess I have to feel lucky they lasted this long. I took great care of the stamps over the years. Alas, their funeral will be commence shortly. Wish I still had the art boards I had them made from. I would redo them in red rubber today, now that I can afford to do so. Oh well.
Not every "clear" stamp is made of photopolymer. A lot of them are acrylic. I've found that I do not like acrylic clear stamps. I'm really picky these days about what companies I buy from, strictly based on the quality of their stamps.
LOL...because 18-20 years ago when I had the stamps made they didn't have acrylic blocks. Back then all stamps were on wood mounts. No one openly admitted they had a stamping addiction back then. Not many people knew about rubber stamps in the art world back then! We didn't have cling foam and we used to buy wood, cut the blocks, index the wood, add foam cushion and then get to stamp. The stamping industry back then was really just starting and we didn't have all the cool things we have now That's why!
Also, the photopolymer of 20 years ago wasn't as durable as it is now days. Now that all these stamps have broken down over time (with or without the use of foam, laminated sheets, or simply categorized in envelopes)...all have torn, broken down, crumbled and/or become extremely sticky.
Guess I have to feel lucky they lasted this long. I took great care of the stamps over the years. Alas, their funeral will be commence shortly. Wish I still had the art boards I had them made from. I would redo them in red rubber today, now that I can afford to do so. Oh well.
Aww...we will salute your stamps for the years of service they gave! I never knew about stamping anyway until 2002 so you've got years on me with this hobby.
Thanks for sharing your information-there should be a stamping hall of fame that houses all the early stamps with all their history! That'd be cool
Not every "clear" stamp is made of photopolymer. A lot of them are acrylic. I've found that I do not like acrylic clear stamps. I'm really picky these days about what companies I buy from, strictly based on the quality of their stamps.
It's actually silicone, not acrylic. People call them acrylic stamps probably because of the blocks used to stamp with - which are actually acrylic.
Silicone is an incredibly cheap material and cannot hold a flame to genuine photopolymer. Here's some info:
Photopolymer VS. Silicone
Imitators are now molding clear stamps using silicone or other plastics to simulate the appearance of photopolymer. The stamps are even individually formed to look like photopolymer. Silicone clear stamps are usually imported and are VERY inexpensive to manufacture. If the stamps are extremely difficult to remove from the clear backing - chances are they are silicone and not photopolymer. If you see imported, non- photopolymer stamp sets selling for prices similar to photopolymer - then you are paying way too much!
I have had silicone stamps tear and split, but never photopolymer.
__________________
{Gallery}{Blog}
I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
Karen, Stampin' Up has a new product called Undefined that lets you carve your own stamps. Maybe you could use this to recreate some of your images. If they still stamp at all, you could use the stamped image as a template.
Oh this just makes me heart sick. Over the years I've had photopolymer stamps made from designs I submitted. They are just crumbling apart! I had unmounted most of them and moved to cling foam stored in 3 ring binders on laminated sheets. You think that would have been okay.
I know now not to have photopolymer stamps made. The only things I could have done is keep a sheet in between each3 ring laminated board that housed the stamps. That might have kept them from sticking to the board it was next to. Or I could have kept them in a DVD insert box, but that wasn't even available back then.
Hundreds of stamps literally being tossed out. What a gummy, sticky, crumbling mess. I know now to only buy red or gray rubber stamps. 20+ years and they are still fine.
Sigh.....
I just wanted to say I was sorry about your stamps. Regardless of their composition or how they were mounted, losing something you had created has to be painful.
__________________ Denise
"If a person who indulges in gluttony is a glutton, and a person who commits a felony is a felon, then God is an iron.�
― Spider Robinson
Photopolymer Stamps
