Traditional Rubber Stamps

Standard rubber stamps are a good value for the money and are good for ordinary use. They are usually designed with wooden bases and handles and rubber heads. You can order a custom rubber stamp with your own phrase or information on it; and it is common for standard rubber stamps to have stock phrases like “Approved,” “Draft” or “Paid” on them for business use. Standard rubber stamps are available with dies that are made out traditional rubber. You will need to purchase an ink pad to go along with a standard rubber stamp, and there are many colors of ink available. Traditional Rubber Stamps can be made in any size or shape.

Self Inking Stamps

With self-inking rubber stamps, you do not need a separate ink pad. A rubber die is mounted to a plate that strikes a built-in ink pad each time an impression is made. You don’t have to worry about the mess caused when you accidentally touch the ink and get it on your fingers as self inking stamps have the stamp and the ink pad self contained. Self-inking stamps can make up to about 5,000 impressions before their ink pads need to be reinked. Self-inking stamps are popular for business purposes, mass mailings, or if you simply are tired of writing your address by hand on every letter you send. These are good for repetitive stamping tasks and are usually used for custom work like address stamps and endorsement stamps, or for general business uses.

Pre-Inked Stamps (Max Lights and Slim Stamps)

A pre-inked stamp does not require a separate ink pad either since the ink resides within the stamp’s surface. The ink is transmitted to the paper’s surface through microscopic pores in the rubber which also prevent leakage. A pre-inked rubber stamp is refilled by placing more ink into its reservoir. Like self-inking stamps, pre-inked stamps are good to use when you have many as 20,000 impressions to make, such as mass mailings or if you want to have a stamp with your address or monogram on it..

You might wonder which rubber stamp is right for you: a standard, self-inking or pre-inked stamp. A standard rubber stamp can be a good choice if you do not use it very often because a standard rubber stamp takes more time to use than the other varieties (i.e. you have to ink the stamp on the ink pad and then make the impression on the paper’s surface). Both the self-inking stamps and the pre-inked stamps are good options for business use. They are both neat and convenient, and can make a thousand impressions before more ink is needed. Pre Inked Stamps are the best decision if you are looking for a higher quality stamp.

Sales of address embossers, monogram embossers, library seals and other personalized embossers have skyrocketed in the past few years as monogramming and personalizing has become more popular. And as the demand has increased so have the number of options for those planning weddings or simply looking to add a personal touch to greeting cards. Understanding those options and determining what your needs are will make selecting the right personalized embosser easy. Below are five tips that will ensure the personalized embosser you purchase will be the right one:

1. Understand the Look You Want to Achieve Many customers think that using an embosser will create the same look as having something professionally printed or embossed; this is not the case. The look produced will be different and knowing how you want to finished product to appear will help you determine which method to go with. The main benefit of purchasing an embosser is that it saves you money – you will have to do some of the work (like embossing each of the envelope flaps by hand) but you can make as many as you want and use the embosser for years to come.

2. Determine What You Will Be Embossing There are many applications for specialty embossers and knowing what you will be embossing will help you choose the type of embosser that will work best for you. Commonly embossed items are: standard paper, envelope flaps (lined or unlined), napkins (through all 4 folded layers), light-weight cardstock, and thicker cardstock.

3. Communicate Your Embosser Needs to the Company You Are Purchasing From There are several types of embossers available and each has its benefits and limitations. When ordering make sure to provide information about what your main use will be and find out from the company you are working with what their embossers will and won’t do. This will save you a lot of time and frustration. For instance, a handheld embosser is a good choice if you want something that is smaller, for easier storage, and lightweight, for portability. But a handheld embosser is not ideal for embossing thick cardstock because you won’t be able to exert the pressure needed to make the impression clear. Another example is purchasing a seal to emboss standard 40 - 60lb paper and then embossing napkins with it – the embossing seal is likely to produce small holes or tears in a paper napkin.

From a manufacturing perspective the engraving depth on the dies can be adjusted to accommodate different surfaces – a deeper engraving for thicker paper and lighter engraving for thinner materials, such as napkins. In order to get the best embosser for your needs it is important that you are specific with the company you are ordering from – otherwise you will receive the embosser and then find out it doesn’t work for what you want to emboss.

4. See What the Embossed Image Will Look Like It is good to get an idea of what your embossed image will look like; this presents a unique challenge since black and white text sometimes looks different when it is turned into an embossed image. See if the company you are working with can provide samples of embossers being used in a wide variety of applications and if they have close up shots of an embossed impression to give you a general idea of how your embossed image will appear. A company can also make you a “proof” so you can see the layout of your embossed information. It is important that you proofread the proof because you are responsible for making sure that the information you provide is correct. Most companies will inform you if you have too many lines of text but seeing a proof will let you double check to make sure everything you provided fits.

5. Go with a Manufacturer – They Have Faster Turnaround Times and Are Usually Less Expensive When it comes to selecting a company to purchase your personalized embosser from you can choose to work with a specialty shop who resell