How stamps are made - interesting Hero Arts video
 

On the Hero Arts blog today there is a video showing how a Hero Arts wood mounted stamp is made. I've not ever seen the process before so I found it really interesting.

Here's a link for those who want to see.

http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

Blimey - all Hero Arts rubber stamps are trimmed by hand before being mounted to the wood! :shock:

Earlier in the week the CEO gave a history of the company and they used to supply stamps to SU!, for nearly 10 years.

Thanks for posting. That was neat to watch. I had no idea they trimmed by hand or that they were a family type business. Gives me a new found respect for them.

That is a cool video. It seems like such a small operation. I figured it was a much bigger all automated type process. And I am amazed they hand trim all their stamps!! I would hate to have that job. But that lady just buzzed through it like it was nothing. Thanks for sharing the link.

That was so awesome! I never realized they were all hand cut. I love that they are a family owned and operated company :)

Wow....Now I understand why stamps are so expensive. What a time consuming process! I don't see how they make any money on them with as many people that run the process. It is nice to see how their operation runs. I also have a new found respect for the company.
(was anyone else cringing when the woman was cutting thru the rubber with what looked like just a pair of junk drawer scissors???!!! I was suprised to see how well they seemed to work though!)

Ouch for the poor scissor girl!

Wow! that was cool..love their catalog too :)

I've seen old SU catalogs before their images went exclusive.

You can only hope that rubber trimming forms only PART of her duties - I hate to imagine that being an employee's sole task!

That was awesome! I've never seen a vulcanizer before! WOW! I couldn't believe it when he said that one dated from WWII!!! And, I've never seen that portion of the process!

The very initial stages of these processes is really cool, too! At A Muse, we work very closely with a select group of artists/illustrators to produce original artwork. Ideas and concepts are generated during live brain-storming sessions, and from there the artists begin sketching and drawing.

It is AMAZING to see these artist's interpretations of these ideas! These illustrations then go through another set of processes before they are sent off to be plated (shown at the beginning of Aaron's video).

Anyway, seeing the people and hand-processes that go on, from idea to finished stamp, really does give a whole new perspective and deeper appreciation into what it takes to produce these *gems* we love so much!
http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/clap.gif

Forget diamonds, baby--Rubbah is where it's at! ;)

I have tendinitis in my right hand/arm, so I wouldn't last long. :shock: But, yeah-- Holy smokes! One would have to have serious stamina!

I likey that tree, very much

Wow, that is quite amazing. I thought they just punched em out, a machine slapped the sticker on and then they went to the store. For this company, at least, that not the way it works!
Those poor scissor and labeling ladies!

Stamps can be die-cut, however, the machinery and customized dies specifically designed for each image or set of images is very costly.

It is cool to know that by not mechanizing that aspect of production, a real person is kept employed! :D

Wow! How awesome is that video! Thanks for sharing this with us!

Wow! Im like everybody else, poor scissor girl! My thumb and middle finger are so sore right now cant cut the rest out! lol! Thanks for sharing this link, I have always wondered about the process too.

That was very interesting. Thanks for posting it. I had no idea there was so much manual labor involved.

I think I've read that is what Gina K does!

DRS Designs, www.drsdesigns.com does the same thing...they make their stamps right here in the States (CT), family owned and operated...stamps are cut by hand, labels are put on by hand...they make them right in their flagship store...very cool stuff!! If you're in the area, check them out!

I got to see the process at the Rubbernecker shop. Very cool!

Thats exactly how we do it at High Hopes Rubber Stamps....only our vulcanizer is like 1/8 the size of theirs...(*grin*). We only have a 9x13 platen size.
We also hand cut out each image once or twice depending. If its mounted on cling foam we use Kai scissors the first time to get nice and close to the image, then a scroll saw to cut through the foam without undercutting.
Also, we hand index the wood, instead of using a plastic label. We chose that because I have several stamps in my personal collection where the label does not want to stick, or got a huge wrinkle down the middle and looks awful. Still... the labels are so pretty on the colored Penny Black stamps.... we may decide to go that route after we grow some, and do a customer servey to see what they prefer....
Thanks for sharing that cool video! Its awesome to see how its done on a bigger scale, and comforting to see that their workbenches are cluttered too!! :-)
It was interesting to hear them call stamping a "Green" craft. We are avid recyclers, and like to be earth friendly, and I have always wanted to get some fb on how our processing of the rubber impacts the earth. I would imagine that going unmounted and not using wooden blocks is probably more earth friendly... but I wonder which is better, all natural red rubber, or synthetic rubber or photopolymer?? It would be interesting to know....

That is how we do it at Unity, except we have 10 people cutting rubber on scroll saws with jeweler blades. We also have a PAD PRINTER to put the images on the wood. That is what we are working on TODAY! Lot's of fun!

Thanks so much for sharing this. I love that tree and will look for it !