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I am inspired by all the clever storage and organization ideas I've seen here lately. My concern is about storing my stamp sets in the safest way.
I've had them lying horizonally in the plastic boxes, stacked one on top of another, on shelves. I like the idea of turning the boxes vertically, like books on a shelf. That would eliminate having to move and shift boxes when I want a set that isn't on top of the horizontal stack. I would just slip the desired set out and then slip it back in when finished.
Is it safe to store stamps vertically? Is there any problem of warping, etc.?
Hi Mary! I store my stamps vertically for the same reasons you mentioned. I have never had a problem with them warping or the rubber falling off or anything. Storing them this way keeps them very accessible AND prevents me from accidently storing them rubber side down, which is a no-no.
I've stored mine vertically from the beginning. I put them vertically into plastic storage boxes. It's great because they stack and travel well if necessary. It definitely hasn't hurt my stamps being stored that way.
And good question ~ why is storing them rubber side down a no-no? I've never heard that?
I store my vertically as well, but mine are in plastic drawers in my stamping closet. It works great. I label each set on the side edge to easily see what set it is.
I have also heard that you should not store them sitting on the rubber end, I never really was told why, but assume it would stick to the plastic of the case and that would damage the surface of the stamp. :? Does anyone know for sure?
I started out storing mine vertically, simply because I was keeping everything in a large plastic set of drawers. I've since outgrown that, and just bought a small bookcase to store my stamps in order to free up the drawers for other things. Now my cases are stacked horizontally. Is this really going to be bad for my stamps?
I have heard that storing your stamps horizontally, "rubber-side-down" will eventually compress the rubber - this in turn, blocks the conditioners in your cleaner from doing their job. Eventually, your stamps will get too dry...
How long would this take? Years and Years??? I store mine vertically, and try to avoid cleaning my stamps with anything alcohol-based (drying) or oil-based (breaks down the components in rubber). I have also heard that lanolin will break down rubber too, so watch out for those baby wipes!!!
Hey there. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the official position of Stampin Up! on how to store stamps? I find it interesting that storing stamps horitontally would bother the stamps since they are only compressed by their own weight and not the weight of other stamps (due to the height of the plastic storage container). What if they were stored horozintally but upside down- rubber side up? Would that make a difference? Just curious. What do you think???
All the chat the other day about stamp storage made me curious _ never really thought about it before. So, I e-mailed SU demonstrator support to ask. The reply wasn't terribly helpful. When asked if horizontal or vertical storage of stamp sets was best/recommended this is the reply I received:
Thank you for your e-mail inquiry and desire for information. Unfortunately, we have not tested this to see if it holds true; therefore, we are unable to recommend one way or the other. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Kristalyn, I asked basically the same question and received the same answer. I can't believe that it would hurt the rubber to be laying rubber side down. If anything, I would think it would affect the shape of the rubber. Oh well, I'm leaving mine the way that they are, rubber side down.
Now that I am using acrylic mounts, I store my stamps 's in a 3-ring binder that I have broken down into categories. I converted almost a year ago and none of my stamps have warped nor have they become compressed.
I have so much MORE space since converting to this system. I wish I would have done it a long time ago.
I have always stored my stamps horizontally and I never even paid attention to whether they were rubber up or down. But I did have a problem with my alphabet set - after only a few months, some of the letters (the rubber part) slid off the foam part. I had assumed this was because they didn't lie flat. So I've been hesitant to switch to vertical storage even though it would save a ton of space.
Did I get a bad alphabet set with not enough stickiness? Or is this only a problem with alphabets because they are so small?
I have had stamps from SU! since they first started 16 years ago and those stamps are in just as good condition as they were back when I bought them (though a little stained from excessive ink use). I have stored them both directions and haven't noticed any problems doing it either way. I like to lay them flat now due to how many I have now and they are on shelves so it saves space, otherwise I would need another 3 shelves if I stored them vertically like I used to.
I would say if you have a drawer system to store them vertically and if you have a shelf system with decent height, store them horizontally.
I label mine with color dots and use letters for each stamp section (H=Holiday. SS=Sayings and Such. AS=All Season and so on). I also write with a Sharpie Marker the name of the set on the side so I can see it from my seat where I stamp. I find this helps me to look at the sets from where I am sitting and I use sets I otherwise forget about sometimes.
Jill
Vertical vs. horizontal storage of stamp sets??
