To Rubber or Foam...THAT is the question

[MannaKnight]

Hello all you talented ladies!

I spent the better part of my night last night and some of my early morning this morning, searching for a thread about rubber only vs adding the foam to rubber stamps. Since you're reading this you can be sure I didn't find any by the time my eyes told me to get in bed. lol However, I DID find some incredible threads on organizing in the beginnings of this section. WOW! So many ways to store our stamps right?

I settled on a system of storing that I am satisfied with but now I am wondering if I really need the foam? I have been told and have even told others that without the foam you will not get an even image...etc. Is this REALLY true?

If you've long since shed your foam and have some hindsight to share I'd really like to hear it.

Thank you for your help!

[lylacfey]

I use bare rubber and no foam. I just use double sided tape to adhere my stamp on the acrylic block.

I bought a piece of foam at Michael's for $1.00. I got my foam in the craft's kid section. I use this foam to stamp on. My images come out great with no unevenness.

I also use this foam when I am paper piercing.

[MannaKnight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lylacfey

I use bare rubber and no foam. I just use double sided tape to adhere my stamp on the acrylic block.

I bought a piece of foam at Michael's for $1.00. I got my foam in the craft's kid section. I use this foam to stamp on. My images come out great with no unevenness.

I also use this foam when I am paper piercing.

Are you saying that you put the foam under the paper instead of having foam on the stamp? Do you mean craft foam like these? Amazon.com: Fibre-Craft Foam Sheet 2mm 12"x18" Black (6 Pack): Pet Supplies

[Inkin One]

It is funny you should ask this question..I have been discussing it with a friend..

I am a bit biased in that I am not a fan of bare rubber. It isn't that they don't seem to stamp well ..I just feel like my stamps are naked HA! I also find it difficult to "see" what the darn stamp is. Yes I could stamp an index image for the ones I have..but that isn't something I care to embark on at this point..LOL. I love cling and clear stamps and am not totally oppposed to good old wood mounted, but storage isn't really an issue for me either. I have to say that even if I didn't have my own studio space..it wouldn't be an issue..and I can always find a place for my stamps LOL.

I suppse the question is if YOU like to stamp with naked stamps and no "cushion" on the stamp..or if you can stand rubber to block..I must have a mental block or something about it..LOL everyone else seems to love the idea and have no regrets about unmounting their stamsp. I see there are more and more companies going to unmounted ( because of cheaper shipping I believe).I hope not everyone follows that trend though..( shudders) LOL

[glendak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MannaKnight

Are you saying that you put the foam under the paper instead of having foam on the stamp? Do you mean craft foam like these? Amazon.com: Fibre-Craft Foam Sheet 2mm 12"x18" Black (6 Pack): Pet Supplies

This is very interesting, i would love to know how/understand
what you mean. I use a mouse pad under my paper that i am
stamping my image on. This seems to work really good for the
stamps that i have that are bare rubber.

[PSU Princess]

I had a little bit of everything...wood mounted, foam mounted and nekkid rubber. My favorite was the foam mounted. I recently unmounted everything and mounted it on cling foam.

My issue with the bare rubber is that ATIO&O was sooooooooo sticky, even diluted, that it often left sticky residue on my blocks and the CD cases I was storing them on. The last batch I used it with, the first time I used the stamp, all the ATIO&O stayed on the case and the rubber was naked again. Ugh. I tried using double-sided tape and that was icky, sticky, messy, too. It kept sticking to the block and coming off my stamp, so it stuck to everything but the rubber.

I like the cling foam because it isn't sticky, yet it clings to the block and they both stay clean. I also love the reduced storage space.

[PMR]

I use bare rubber. I do have stamping mat that I use under my card stock. It has worked really well for me! I went with bare rubber because it was cheaper and easier. I use tack and peel on my blocks. I use double sided tape in cd holders for storage

[Cathy H]

It has always been my impression that you need some kind of padding. Whether that is foam (as on a foam mounted stamp) or a stack of magazines under your paper, or one of those things that Close to My Heart uses, it doesn't matter. Just have some padding. I use all kinds of stamps - but with bare rubber you have to have padding

[lylacfey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MannaKnight

Are you saying that you put the foam under the paper instead of having foam on the stamp? Do you mean craft foam like these? Amazon.com: Fibre-Craft Foam Sheet 2mm 12"x18" Black (6 Pack): Pet Supplies

That is the foam I use. I put the foam under the paper.

[Cathy H]

Or a stack of paper or magazines. Just something with "give"

[deipara]

I have bare rubber stamps - all my Bellas are bare rubber. I found out the hard way that my stamping table is bouncy (I work on a fold-up plastic table) and I don't get clear images with bare rubber or clear stamps.

My way around this is to have a scrap piece of wood (it's a 2x4 that's about 18 inches long) that I place my paper on to stamp. I get clear images 95% of the time.

[contrapat]

couple of things- I have a Darice foam stamping pad for under the paper- it works great, and it's cheap. Archiver's carries them for about $4. See link below for the one I have.

Darice Rubber Stamping Mat 8mm 11"x 17" Product Detail -- CreateForLess

And if you end up with a sticky mess on your acrylic blocks, use good old Avon Skin So Soft to take it off. I'll never use double sticky tape to adhere bare rubber on my blocks again (until the next time I want to use an unmounted stamp that I haven't had time to mount on wood......LOL!) I also use SSS for removing sticky residue on my mounting scissors, and anything else that gets gummed up and won't be ruined by the oil. There's always a bottle under my kitchen sink.

[KatarinaM]

If you don't like the sticky mess with ATIO&O, try the Tombow Mono Multi (green and white bottle). I prefer it for my UM rubber because it washes up with soap and water (Aleene's doesn't, you need mineral oil or some other goopy substance) and it doesn't leave a residue behind if you paint a thin layer with an old brush. HTH.

[jukie]

I am a "nekkid" stamper...:oops:

the key is to have a flat surface, you will very quickly find out it's not flat if you "nekkid" stamp.

I do have a foam matt that I use maybe 40% of the time but other then that its just the block, the rubber, the paper/card, and my desk and I find I get better images...as you can feel when you squishing to hard as the edges of the image "give".

It's trial and error, what works for one won't work for another, try it out, see how it feels in your hands, with your rubber and cardstock.