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They are the same thing. "Digital stamps" are digital line art . . . not a stamp. It's just a common (and misleading) term used by stampers who work with digital images.
They are the same thing. "Digital stamps" are digital line art . . . not a stamp. It's just a common (and misleading) term used by stampers who work with digital images.
hth!
I'm one of the one's that disagree with this opinion. I don't refer to the images that artists create for digital stamps as "clip art" just because it seems to have a negative connotation associated with the term. Some of the artists themselves also feel that it is an insult to their work to have it called clip art. The definition of a stamp is an image by which it is intended to be used repeatedly. Whether you use rubber impressed with the image or a printer to make the image, it is still a stamp. All rubber stamps start out as a drawing - either hand or by computer - but the majority (if not all these days) are scanned into the computer and used digitally to create the hard stamps. The digital stamp just bypasses the final stage and is ready to use as is. The beauty is that we all have the freedom to choose whichever way we want to stamp. I like the versatility of digital stamps and seem to use them 99% of the time in my crafting. I do, however, still have hundreds of regular stamps that I still use too once in a while. Its all fun.
cat_woman: I didn't mean anything derogatory. Clip art is just an older term comonly used when graphics were mocked up manually. I don't know why it has a negative connation but since it does, I prefer to say digital images or digital art.
ETA: In the 'old days' (my earlier life!) clipart was commonly contained in books and clipped out, and now our 'books' are CDs or a hard drive. Same concept.
I don't agree with your definition of stamp. Digital images by any name are not stamps.
Sure, I can scan in my drawings (or draw on the computer but I don't usually do that) and print them out and use them just like I do stamped images. But until that art is manufactured into a stamp, it's not a stamp.
My guess from the OP's comments was that she was just looking into this and probably seeing both terms tossed around, and being a rubber girl, just wasn't sure if there was a difference.
Surely if I were not involved in this hobby/business and heard the term "digital stamp" my curiosity would be piqued. I'd have no idea what that was -- I'd probably think it was some kind of electronic signature.
It probably is semantics... but I wonder if it has to do with the licensing too - a good majority of clip art is copyright free and in the public domain. Digital stamps usually come with some use restrictions, as the artist retains copyright of the artwork.
I tend to agree that it is simply marketing that they are referred to as digital stamps. I don't know that it matters to me what they are called. I prefer good old rubber stamps and a few clear stamps, but I have purchased a couple of digi sets. (Lost them on my computer...Grrr!)
My husband says angus is not any better than other beef. It's just a cow with good PR. ;)
Although my previous response might've been a bit flippant, it's true. Technically, clip art and digital stamps are the same. The difference is in the intent (or marketing): they're created with different audiences and slightly different end uses in mind, then presented accordingly.
Not all clip art is in the public domain. Most are protected by some form of copyright or usage policy, even if we're unaware of it. Just like digital stamps.
Knowing that the terms are nearly interchangeable gives you new search terms to use when you're hunting down the perfect image.
Not all clip art is in the public domain. Most are protected by some form of copyright or usage policy, even if we're unaware of it. Just like digital stamps.
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Sarah I agree. Dover Publications has dozens to books with CD's filled with clip art. Dover holds the Copyright and it says so on the books, but they have very few guidelines for their use.
On the books it says you can use them for any Hobby/craft without permission. There are only 2 restrictions. If you are going to use more than 10 different images in one project you need written permission. And if you are going to use them commercially such as making a rubber stamp from them you need to buy a commercial license. The commercial license are very cheap and are for a lifetime without restrictions on how many products you can make.
Royalty Free and Copyright Free are not the same. Somethings are advertised as "Royalty Free" that just means you don't pay the artist who drew the images "each time" you use them. Dover images are "Royalty Free
I think the Internet had given people a false idea of what is in the Public Domain. Just because it is on the Internet doesn't mean we can just take things and use them
__________________ "I have not failed . I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work" --Thomas A. Edison
cat_woman: I didn't mean anything derogatory. Clip art is just an older term comonly used when graphics were mocked up manually. I don't know why it has a negative connation but since it does, I prefer to say digital images or digital art...
I didn't mean to sound like I was saying that you were being derogatory. I was just saying that I disagreed with your opinion and letting the OP know what my point of view was. I do remember the days when clip art was in books - thus the name. Today, most clipart is generally created to use on websites so the resolution is only 72dpi. Some clipart is available in higher resolution for print (usually around 200-300dpi) and this is the same as what digital stamps are created. I'm glad that the sources for my crafting images has opened up to areas that I wouldn't have otherwise used. I found that the best source for images is, of all things, free digital colouring pages.
I thought that digital stamps could be resized. That would be a big advantage. Maybe I'm wrong. I have never used one.
Jutta
You can resize, flip, rotate, combine to make scenes, mask, re-colour... There are so many things that you can do with digital. I know the one thing a lot of people who aren't familiar with them say is that you can't emboss them. If you use a fixative or medium gel on your paper (and letting it dry ) before running it through the printer, you can emboss just like it was stamped with a rubber stamp and ink pad. If you take a look at the first card in this blog post, I embossed both the image and the sentiment (both are digi's). It really is just a matter of different processes to get similar results. The two biggest advantages of digi's though is storage and cost. All you need is a little bit of hard drive space and they're not taking up space on your shelf. It seems that the average cost of a digi stamp is running around $3.00. I don't think I could get a single rubber stamp image for that price (unless you count the cheapy $1.50 stamps at Michaels).
All connotations aside, technically speaking, they are the same. I don't think the term clip art is used anymore. I believe that all these files are just called digital images now. I always thought the term digital stamps was inaccurate anyway. They aren't stamps.
For me...it is laziness
I refer to it as "digi",,.short for digital art. I do have a bad habit of shortening words.
This has been interesting bc I did think Dover and the other clip art books were free domain. Huh. I guess I did not read the fine print. Not the first/last time. Thanks for the heads up. But...what happens if the art (ie Pooh) has entered free domain? Can their clip art still have rights?
I always knew current digital art has angel policies or whatever like stamps etc.
__________________ Margot
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Let me add another slightly different and same take.
I've been using digi stamps, clip art for many years in my art now.
Both are digital images and I find myself increasingly calling them all that - digital images.
The big diff for me is that many/most digital stamps are black and white line art, so you can resize, flip, etc., print out and color using your pens, brushes, pencils, etc.
There's also a lot of pre-colored digital stamps for if you do not want to color.
Unless you are looking for art to color yourself, there is virtually no difference in the products beyond terms.
The other thing to watch out for is the format. The best digis in my opinion are in png. format so you can layer them digitally to make a scene. (It's like masking with physical stamping.)
Some vendors only offer cut files for the electronic cutters, so I keep an eye out for format choices when shopping. I buy most of my digital images on etsy and there are so many to choose from.
I tend to agree that it is simply marketing that they are referred to as digital stamps. I don't know that it matters to me what they are called. I prefer good old rubber stamps and a few clear stamps, but I have purchased a couple of digi sets. (Lost them on my computer...Grrr!)
My husband says angus is not any better than other beef. It's just a cow with good PR. ;)
LOL! I am now hoping for more bits of wisdom from your husband.
What is the difference
