Is it my stamps or me???
 

I'm a newbie to stamping and to the site and LOVE both!!:)

Problem is many of my more solid stamps don't stamp dark. The edges stamp dark but the larger areas don't transfer the ink as well. I've tried pressing REALLY hard and also have cleaned them really good but it doesn't help. Any suggestions from any of the experts out there?? I'm so in awe of you all!!

TIA,
Judy in Henderson

Have you tried stamping with the rubber facing up and laying your cardstock on top of it, then I cover it with a scrap piece of paper and rub all over or brayer.
I did this with my background stamps and needless to say I am no longer background challenged.

I have this problem with NEW stamps - I think there may be a chemical residue on the stamp from the manufacturing process. The 1st time I ink up, I stamp something I don't care about (typing paper or scraps) first - then re-ink and stamp again.

It's the Stamps
 

If you're saying that the ink doesn't lay evenly on the stamp, this may be the challenge (there are no problems in stamping!):

Stamps are made in a type of mold. They have to put something into the mold so that the stamps will pop out after they've "cooked". You can't see it but the affect on how well they ink up. This is more obvious on the solid ones & may cause the ink not to set up right on the stamp.

The more you use it, the better it will get, but friction will help the stamp ink up better. You can use your stamp cleaner pad, a pair of jeans or lightly use a sanding block to help the stamp ink up better.

PLEASE don't take really rough sandpaper and force it into it. Just a light touch will do.

If you're saying that it's uneven on the paper, then this is your challenge:

Sometimes when a block is quite large, it's a bit harder to get an "even press". That's when I will take my thumb before I lift the stamp from the paper & push it on what I call "the sweet spot"....that spot that's not hitting the paper as well. I give it some direct pressure in the "sweet spot" and all is well.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the help. And you're right -- think challenge not problem -- alot less stressful that way.:)

Think I need to try the light sanding to see if that works. Will let you know.

Thanks again my new friends.

Another tip - sometimes the surface you are using to stamp on can make a difference when you use a larger stamp. I use a folding table, and it has some areas that are not perfectly "flat" so I can get an uneven image sometimes.

I usually stamp with a craft mat, or a magazine under my paper. That seems to help.

Try using a stamping mat or a pad of newsprint. It really helps you to get a nice even imprint. On really big stamps I put the paper on the floor, then the inked stamp, and I stand on it. Works perfect

Hay Judy, and welcome to SCS!!! I'm so glad you found all us crazy, insane rubber addicts.
Sorry you're feeling kinda desperate but I'm glad you asked. I do as wagleg does except.. I ink my stamp and lay it face up on my table. Then I lay my CS on top. Instead of using a brayer, I just carefully rub my hand/fingers all over the CS, being sure to hit the areas that are hard to give a good image. I mostly have trouble with either solid stamps or stamps with lots of fine lines but this works everytime for me.
I have unmounted almost all my stamps so the EZ Mount adheres well to my formica table or my glass mat. You could try an old mouse pad or a piece of that rubbery shelf liner.. anything to help hold a wood mounted stamp in place. If the wood slips, you're sunk. The hardest part is lifting the CS w/o shifting it. You can, just take your time. HTH! May God bless, Sandi

I second both of these methods. If you use the paper on the floor, stamp on top method, be sure you have a smooth floor surface. Tiles with a texture won't give a good result.

Another thing you can try is to put a sheet of fun foam under your paper. It really does help make a better impression without having to press down so hard on the stamp.

For solid stamps, I find that dye inks don't give as solid coverage as pigment inks do. You might try switching inks and see if you get better results. If you only have dye ink, make sure the pad isn't drying out. I find that when I'm not getting good coverage, it's because I'm not getting enough ink on the rubber. As soon as I re-ink the pad, it works fine.

I recently had this problem with a new stamp. The solid portion was stamping a mottled image. I had heard that a pencil eraser could be used on them, so I tried it. The first image afterward was spectacular! Subsequent images...not so hot. Each time I used the eraser, the image was great. I called the company for help. They sent me a new set in case it was the stamp. The new set was the same. However, they sent me an image stamped with a different kind of ink than I was using and it was beautiful. I tried all of my inks, and found that some brands worked perfectly without using the eraser and some didn't. Hope this helps you as much as it did me!

I just read about an hour ago on a website that you can use Stazon cleaner on new stamps and that will take off the residue from the manufacturing mold. After using the Stazon cleaner, use your regular conditioning cleaner and you should be good to go. I don't remember what website it was, because that was an hour ago and I have been on a bazillion places since then. Sorry.

when I have trouble with a solid stamp, I'll first clean it really well, then I'll ink it with the rubber facing up and then just stamp it the regular way. That way I can see how much ink is on the stamp and if all the areas are covered. I pretty much do this with most of my bigger stamps too just because it lets me know when it's ready to stamp the image. Works pretty well.

Bingo! I find that if I try inking by taking stamp to pad, I'm likely to hit a "...dead spot..." on the ink pad. However, if I turn the stamp onto the mounting and pounce the pad on top of the stamp, it is much more evenly inked. Plus, I can see if there are any "...edges..." catching ink that shouldn't be.

Or an old mouse mat works great:) . That's what I use, even though a stamping pad came with the first set of self-cling stamps I got.
But at least you can see that you're not alone :) .

I was told Many years ago when I started with Posh Impressions stamps, (which have alot of rubber), to lightly sand them, with fine sandpaper.

You guys are just fantastic. Thanks so much for all the great tips. I'll keep trying 'til I get it right! Hope everyone gets in alot of stampin' this weekend. Weather here is FINALLY nice so it's hard to stay inside! :)

Judy H.
Henderson, NV

I take a white eraser to all of my new stamps. It's more gentle than sand paper, and seems to remove the film from them and give them a matte finish that holds the ink better.

Oh, you are *so* not alone! lol
Here's a link to a great tutorial about conditioning your solid stamps:
http://patstamps.blogspot.com/2008/0...ay-whimsy.html
Pat is great & has lots of helpful hints.
Also, I didn't see anyone mention it, but do you just stamp & lift off really quick? Depending on the ink/paper I've gotten some better results if I let the ink soak in for a couple of seconds before removing the stamp.
HTH! :D

If you want a darker image on smaller stamps, you can use the SU markers to color them.

I'm so glad to know I'm not alone with this problem. When you're new at something you always assume you're doing something wrong.:)

Sometimes, with a bolder image you need to press and hold (without rocking) the stamp a little bit before lifting it up from the cardstock as this will give the ink a chance to transfer from the rubber to the cardstock.

When stamps are vulcanized, (I'm talking rubber here,) The mat boards are first sprayed with release spray. It's kinda' like olive oil in your pan so your food doesn't stick.

Wash your stamp first with a scrub pad. Then, use a little permanent ink on it, like stazon. Then, quickly clean it again, with a good cleaner like Ultraclean. It should always work well after that.

The sand paper thing scares me a little. although I haven't tried it so I can't say whether or not it works. (It may work great. :)) But if your image is chunky and solid, be careful not to scratch it. Those scratches might show up in your image.

Just my 2 cents. :)

or maybe...
 

Or maybe it's the ink. I didn't see anyone else mention it, but it's not always the rubber. I find that for the solid stamps, especially the largeish ones, the "gooey-er" the ink the better. Try reinking your pad and then inking up your stamp.

And what do you mean the weather is FINALLY nice there? I just came from NV (but they forced me back on a plane to come home) and it was MUCH nicer there then it was where I come from, even on a bad day. LOL

cheers
nikkii

Nikkii,
I'm probably spoiled ;) but it's been VERY windy (almost non-stop). I'm so ready for summer! At least we don't have tornadoes!!

Judy H.