Unmounted Stamps
 

Could someone help me out with this?!? Why would a stamper unmount their stamps. I am new to this and maybe I am missing something but what is the benefit to unmounting stamps, or keeping them unmounted in the first place?!?
kath

Why???
 

I like the fact that I can see where I am stamping because of the clear acrylic block, it takes up much less space (I store mine in CD cases...not the slim size, regular), and the clean up is great. I rinse them off and leave them to dry -- no more stained wood to worry about! They are also CHEAPER if you buy them that way! I have unmounted foam stamps like those from rubber stampede and cut away all the extra rubber that leaves unwanted stray marks!! Then I mounted it on ez cling rubber and I have a functioning stamp.

Just my thoughts... :wink:

Chris
http://allamericanstampers.tripod.com

You might want to visit this web site:

www.sundayint.com

It does a good job at explaining the unmounted system. Most people use this when they buy rubber only stamps. It cost a lot of money to buy wood blocks and mount them all. But many stampers are choosing to unmount all of their stamps for storage reasons. Other simply love the wood and the aesthetic look of the mounted stamps or they don't like the idea of pulling the stamp on and off an acrylic block. They think it takes too much time and hassle and they just want to stamp.

I'm on the fence, but I'm leaning towards unmounted. I'm going to order some Angel Company (a company like stampin up that specializes in unmounted stamps) stamps and see how I like them. I have a real storage problem right now.

Re: Unmounted Stamps
 

Storage Storage Storage. All of my sets fit into 3 2 inch binders. This instead of having an overflowing rolling cart that I had to open and sort through every time I wanted a set. And since I buy all kinds of stamps I can keep different sets together. For example all Stampinup current in one binder, all non stampin up in another, and all Stampin up Hostess or retired in the third binder.

The only problem I have had...
1. If you seperate the words from the image, make sure you know what goes with what. I dont read Kanji

2. Small stamps can get mis placed. I will not be mounting EFP this way.

Here is a flyer I designed on the advantages of unmounted stamps.
If you can't open this I have it in word too I can send you.

opps forgot attachment

Ok, I get all that, but how do you get the stamps to adhere to the acrylic block.
If you could, take me from the beginning with a new set and also from unmounting a current set.

I use EZ -mount that is what comes with the TAC stamps. You just mount your stamps on to the EZ-mount cushion and trim. The EZ mount is a cling rubber that stickes to the acrylic block. But the great thing is it isn't sticky so it doesn't stick to you.

I LOVE THEM!!!! I give a FREE stamp and acrylic block with each sale of the catalog since I lot of people don't know who the system works and I feel if they see it in there hand and can try it they will LOVE it. And LOVE the space and price savings of unmounted stamps.

stamps
 

If your worried about the wood staining.What I do is before I even mount my stamps I put 2 or 3 coats fo close to my heart wood protector on the wood first.Then after it is dry I put the stamps and clear image on it.Then you don't ever have to worry about the wood staining if you get ink on it.It wipe right off.

Another thing you can do is take a fine piece of sand paper and sand the ink stain off and then you can still put a coat or 2 of the close to my heart wood protector on it.I have bought stamps off e-bay and doen this.you can get it at Micheals and it's pretty cheap and it goes a long way.

the great thing about Acrylic blocks is you can clean off any ink you get on them with rubbing alcohol. I just love them

I use a glue stick eg Pritt stick to attach my unmounted stamps. I much prefer unmounted, they are much easier to stamp in position.
Some unmounted stamps now even come on acrylic sheets and are sticky so they stick to the acrylic block. These kind are also made of clear rubber, so you can see through to the card to really precisely place your stamp

unmounted..YUCK!
 

I am probably the ONLY person who hates unmounted stamps. I had ordered some TAC stamps from a former friend (to help out her business) and I have never used a single one. I don't like having to constantly stick them on that acrylic block, I just prefer wood mounted. Space and storage has never been a problem for me. I am blessed with a huge scrap/stamp room and have over 300+ mounted sets.
It has been my personal experience that the companies that sell UM stamps are cheap knock-offs of SU designs. I liked many of the TAC designs but they just looked cheaper than SU, ya know? And their stamps are too small. They didn't have many large image stamps to choose from.
Now I just have to figure out how to get rid of all of the UM TAC stamps that I will never use....I can't even give them away. There's not a huge following like with SU.
I just pray that SU doesn't go unmounted. I think it's a phase that will thankfully be gone in the next year or two. I am a totally committed mounted stamper....but I have friends who are equally fervent about unmounted.

Suzanne

I'm hosting a workshop for a friend of mine that is a TAC demo, and all the ladies I have invited are VERY EXCITED about it, especially the aspect(sp) of the unmounted system. These are ladies that have been stamping for years. I really hope that SU! goes unmounted. CTMH has , and this seems to be the direction the industry is going. I personally own over 200 SU! stamp set, and I just got into Stamping in 2003(July) and storage is becoming an issue. Just my two cents worth.

Smile It Increases Your Face Value!!!!!

:D OH, Please don't say for SU to go unmounted! I do not like them! You can't tell what the stamp is supposed to look like, there's no image to see with no mount! That drives me CRAZY! The wood mounted are so nice, and you can always use a Stamp-a-ma-jig to place them where you want...just eyeballing is usually sufficient, unless it's something really intricate...
I hope to goodness SU stays with the wood mounts, I believe they will because I think Shelli KNOWS that it's the best!
Diane

You know, I've read many posts on this issue and gone to a website or two and read the information on unmounteds. I've seen a couple of acrylic stamps. I can see how the acrylic as well as the unmounted on acrylic mounts could be appealing. But, I think I'll stick with wood mounts. At least for cards and scrapbooking. I don't really mind that I can't see what I'm stamping. Sometimes it's a nice surprise and there's always Stamp-A-Majig. I think it would get on my nerves to have to remove the stamps from the acrylic mount. As far as staining on the wood blocks, that is surprising irrelevant to me. Less need for storage space does sound like a plus but then I think maybe I should just keep my collection to the size that fits in my cabinet for now. It seems like one of those like or hate type of things to me. But, I think that if I were going to do decorating projects with stamps, acrylic mounteds would be pretty convenient.

I personally love the unmounted system! I have a lot of SU sets but not quite enough that storage is really a problem. I like the fact that you can see what you are stamping and I LOVE the price!! Much cheaper that mounted.
I purchased the "sticky stuff" backing on line. I would have to look up the site. I haven't unmounted any of my SU as of yet. I have just purchased from TAC - and they come with the backing.
Is there any TAC demo's out there? I only have a few sets and I would like to know when the new catalog is coming out??
Thank you.
Cindy

Suzanne,
I pm'd you about your UM stamps. :lol:
Cindy

I've spent the last two day trying to decide if I want to pull all my stamps off their wood so this thread caught my eye.

I have over 3000 stamps so storage space has become a huge concern with me - even though I have my own room for stamping. Right now I'd estimate that about half of my stamps are still mounted.

The only two things holding me back are, 1. I like the look and feel of wood, and 2. I teach stamping classes and while I'm sure I could make the students comfortable with UMs I worry that it would make my stamps easier to steal.

I read some statements in this thread that caused me some concern. One was that the companies selling UMs were knock-offs of SU. The majority of stamp companies offer UMs either as their only choice or in addition to mounted stamps. There is such a wide variety of styles available, many that are nothing at all like SU. (Example: Stamp Zia) Also it was noted that UMs are a phase and the hope was that it would pass soon. Well, I'm here to tell you that this caught on a good 20 years ago and the UMs were probably available even before that. I don't think this is just a flash in the pan idea that will be gone soon. Some companies that use to offer both mounted and unmounted have switched to unmounted only because it is very labor intensive to mount stamps (even SU has figured out to leave the actual mounting to the customer). For small private owned companies it become an around the clock job that can wreck havoc on their hands. These companies are also looking to save their profits in an industry that is getting more competitive daily. You'd be surprised how inexpensive it is to produce just the rubber vs. the entire mounted stamp. And space is a big concern for the companies that need to travel to conventions.

Personally I don't think you need to worry about SU going the UM route any more than they already do (mount your own kits). They are very business savvy and they understand who their market is.

As far as putting them on an off the acrylic mounts being a hassle I have to say that for me this is no more than the hassle of searching though all my baskets of stamps to find the right mounted ones. It's just as easy to flip though my image binder, select the images I want and then using the notations in the binder go directly to the specific small envelope that stamp is stored in. It's almost second nature to slap it on the block as I'm taking it out.

The best method (UM or WM) is what works for YOU.

Personally, I'm too lazy to go UM system. I also love the FEEL of wood mounts. I don't have storage issues, because I am fortunate to have a small studio, 8 x 13' all my own. And, I try hard to sell my used stamps if they have sat for a year gathering dust, so I can annually recoup my storage space for new stamps! :smile:

Personally speaking, I don't like clear polymer stamps--my experiences with them so far haven't been pleasing to ME. But, others love them. I have some that have been setting unused for over a year now and I regret buying them at this point . . . and will probably try to sell 'em in my next driveway used RS sale . . .

I also have a collection of UMs I bought when I first started stamping 12 years ago, and the bulk of them remain never used, and most of them not used in the past 11 years. Again, I regret buying them. I either need to mount them permanently to a wood block and index them so I WILL use them, or just get rid of them and quit fooling myself that I ever will use them.

Personally, I feel that if SU! were to go UM, they would lose a lot of biz and a lot of demo'rs, so I hope they don't. There are companies that cater to UM fans, and companies that cater to WM fans, and some that try to cater to both! :wink:

Shelli has commented that she prefers WM and that she intends for the product line to remain WM system as is. However, the buyer does have the option to mount them as they wish, so I feel that the consumer does have some flexibility in that regard and are not locked into a WM system if they choose to keep their trimmed out images UM and use acrylic blocks, which are readily available in many online retailers.

If SU! ever went clear polymer, I would definitely cease being a demo'r simply because I don't care for clear polymer nor UM systems.

But, that's ME. Everybody has different tastes and needs, and what's lucky for us: there are plenty of companies out there to meet EVERYBODY'S needs! :D