Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I just bought a stamp yesterday, it's Hero Arts brand and it's 4"x3". It's not stamping evenly. At first I thought it was my uneven ink pad, but then I tried another, smaller pad and got it inked evenly, but the impression didn't stamp evenly (some areas are lighter than the rest). I stamp at my kitchen table where it is hard wood and flat. I have been stamping for many years now and have run into this problem with much larger stamps, but not with something this size. So I wonder if I got a bad stamp. Any suggestions?
Try putting something under your paper, a magazine perhaps. I had this problem with a Clear Stamp and having a little give underneath seemed to do the trick.
__________________ Barbara SU! Demo with a Blog
Procrastinators of the world unite... tomorrow!
I just bought a stamp yesterday, it's Hero Arts brand and it's 4"x3". It's not stamping evenly. At first I thought it was my uneven ink pad, but then I tried another, smaller pad and got it inked evenly, but the impression didn't stamp evenly (some areas are lighter than the rest). I stamp at my kitchen table where it is hard wood and flat. I have been stamping for many years now and have run into this problem with much larger stamps, but not with something this size. So I wonder if I got a bad stamp. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Laura
Try putting a foam mouse pad (not one of the super thin plastic ones but the thicker ones) or similar product under your paper to see if that helps. InqueBoutique sold what I am trying to describe as their "secret weapon" and also included small pieces with each of their stamp sets. Although Inque has been sold to Darice, some LSS's might still have some of the secret weapons available. I know one of the stands (can't remember which now) at a recent stamp convention had some.
Joannes sells large stamping mats. They are burgundy color on the bottom shelf by the inkpads for only $4.99. I have one and love it.
What she says! Which stamp is it? Is it an old one? Sometimes, I think stores don't store the stamps properly and if it sits too long with something pressing on it, it might get warped.
BTW, I did get a bad stamp from Hero Arts once...it was one in a quatro set that had a divet out of the rubber. I called Hero Arts directly and they FED-EXed a whole new set to me the next day. Awesome! That was five years ago, and I've been a loyal customer since.
When you ink it up, flip it over and see if there is even ink coating...if it looks a little odd, then try to clean the stamp first, if it is still not stamping properly, try some very fine sand paper and very lightly sand the surface...I have had to do this with some new su sets and the justrite stamps.
or, try stamping it like you would one of SU's large background stamps ... face up and put the paper to the rubber rather than the other way around. That way, you'd be able to make sure you've put an even pressure on all portions of the image.
Sometimes it's just the stamp that's got a flaw and nothing you do will make it right. I had that happen to me with a Stampedous stamp I got from Hobby Lobby. Took it back and exchanged it and the new one stamped perfectly
What she says! Which stamp is it? Is it an old one? Sometimes, I think stores don't store the stamps properly and if it sits too long with something pressing on it, it might get warped. BTW, I did get a bad stamp from Hero Arts once...it was one in a quatro set that had a divet out of the rubber. I called Hero Arts directly and they FED-EXed a whole new set to me the next day. Awesome! That was five years ago, and I've been a loyal customer since.
I've had this happen with a Hero Arts box set. I was thinking I might need to tear it off and redo the cling foam.
Perhpaps your bad stamp needs an intervention - is it on drugs, drinks too much, or is giving you sass?? Sorry, I think I've had too much Halloween candy.
What she says! Which stamp is it? Is it an old one? Sometimes, I think stores don't store the stamps properly and if it sits too long with something pressing on it, it might get warped.
BTW, I did get a bad stamp from Hero Arts once...it was one in a quatro set that had a divet out of the rubber. I called Hero Arts directly and they FED-EXed a whole new set to me the next day. Awesome! That was five years ago, and I've been a loyal customer since.
Highly possible. The times I have not been careful to store my stamps wood down and rubber up, or on the wood block "end", the rubber and the cushion can become depressed by something else and cause this problem. I hate when that happens.
I almost have a heart attack now, when I see people dump stamps into a box or bucket and leave 'em like that! :shock:
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
Perhpaps your bad stamp needs an intervention - is it on drugs, drinks too much, or is giving you sass?? Sorry, I think I've had too much Halloween candy.
Girl, what you been smokin' today? :p
Teasing! I am TEASING YOU!!! I hope you know. ;)
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
Perhpaps your bad stamp needs an intervention - is it on drugs, drinks too much, or is giving you sass?? Sorry, I think I've had too much Halloween candy.
Thanks for the laugh today, I needed that. :mrgreen:
__________________ Forget Reality, I want a Fairy Godmother! Fan Club Member...are you? I need my stamping fix!
When I have this problem, I lightly run a pencil eraser across the stamp and then clean it before stamping. This usually works for me even better than the sand paper trick some one else mentioned. Good luck!
Location: the beautiful blue mountains, sydney australia
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MY demo showed us with large stamps, to put them on their back, then place the paper and rub all over with the wooden side of a smaller stamp. You get a much better, even image doing this.
I have had this problem a few times, but only with smaller Hero Arts stamps. I have returned some for replacements but not all stores are willing to refund stamps. In each case, I noticed that the foam backing had been undercut (angled in toward the centre of the stamp.) I had to remount the rubber on new foam and cut evenly.
If the foam is even, try laying the stamp wood side down, ink with a brayer, and position card stock face down on the inked image and run evenly over with your fingers Hope this helps.
Quite a while ago I had a bad shadow stamp that I'd had quite a while and it went bad. I called HA told them about it and was hoping they would tell me how to fix the problem or exchange my old stamp . . . the didn't . . . they sent me an ENTIRE SET! That's a company that cares. I actually tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen!
__________________ ShariW
Trust in the Lord with all thine Heart-Prov.3:5a
Hey... just a thought... if it's the mounting foam that's gotten "crushed" a bit, what about putting it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or so? Might that smooth it back out?
What she says! Which stamp is it? Is it an old one? Sometimes, I think stores don't store the stamps properly and if it sits too long with something pressing on it, it might get warped.
BTW, I did get a bad stamp from Hero Arts once...it was one in a quatro set that had a divet out of the rubber. I called Hero Arts directly and they FED-EXed a whole new set to me the next day. Awesome! That was five years ago, and I've been a loyal customer since.
Hero's customer service is the best. They will take care of you if you contact them. It might even be a problem that they didn't know about, but most likely, the stamp was stored with uneven pressure on it. Try heating it in the microwave for a couple (really, just a couple) of seconds to see if that helps it even out.
Highly possible. The times I have not been careful to store my stamps wood down and rubber up, or on the wood block "end", the rubber and the cushion can become depressed by something else and cause this problem. I hate when that happens.
I almost have a heart attack now, when I see people dump stamps into a box or bucket and leave 'em like that! :shock:
Ok, I had no idea that I should be putting my stamps rubber up. You would die if you saw my stamps. All my SU stamps are in their cases, but all the others are just put in a drawer - wood up. I guess I need to go flip them all over. But how the heck do you find anything? With rubber up I would be hunting for stuff constantly.
__________________ Martha
"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." Jean Shinoda Bolen
Ok, I had no idea that I should be putting my stamps rubber up. You would die if you saw my stamps. All my SU stamps are in their cases, but all the others are just put in a drawer - wood up. I guess I need to go flip them all over. But how the heck do you find anything? With rubber up I would be hunting for stuff constantly.
I would number the drawers and all the stamps in that drawer I would stamp them on paper and mark on the top of the paper, Drawer 1. Do the same for drawer 2 and so forth. I keep the paper with the drawer and the stamps that are in that drawer in a notebook. When I want to look for a stamp I look in the notebook, and find that it is going to be in drawer 3. I hope this makes sense.
I had a Christmas stamp in a set that was mounted on a piece of wood with a knot in it, so the wood block wasn't level. I just unmounted the stamp and I use it on my acrylic block instead.
I store my stamps wood up and have never had one problem. I could see if the surface that touches the rubber is uneven, but otherwise, nope, why should a flat surface make an indentation? I been storing my stamps this way for years and years and no problems. Myabe I just been lucky, but Ihave no plans to change my storage system.
Perhpaps your bad stamp needs an intervention - is it on drugs, drinks too much, or is giving you sass?? Sorry, I think I've had too much Halloween candy.
ROTHFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love your sense of humor!
I have found that sometimes a rubber stamp needs a little sanding. I use one of the rectanglular sponge type sanders that are available in the nail/manicure section of a store. Sand it a little, then clean and see if that works. Be gentle while sanding. Sometimes there is a coating that needs to be removed. Good luck. I hope this works for you.
Have you ever seen the video on youtube that Hero Arts has of the process of making stamps? Hero makes their OWN stamps here in the USA and the video is pretty cool. They have a link to it from their website too. We just LOVE Hero, their Customer Service is awesome, and the stamps are to *die for ;)
smiles!
-Heidi
