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Q: Do I need to produce artwork to make my own rubber stamps?
A: Yes, you do, unless you are making a sheet of stamps of artwork you have previously made or if the artwork supplied. |
Q: Can I use my inkjet printer for artwork output?
A: Yes you can, but you will need special transparency artwork film. The quality of your negative produced from inkjet may not be as good as artwork produced from laser printers. As a general rule, the greater the density of the black images on the artwork the better the quality of the negative you will be able to produce. |
Q: Can I produce artwork on normal writing paper?
A: No. You must use our standard Artwork Transparency Film or our special Inkjet Transparency Film |
Q: Can my artwork consist of a mixture of logos, designs and text?
A: Yes. However, the quality of any logos or designs, which have been scanned in, must be very high. In plate making you must remember the following:
Poor Quality Artwork leads to a Poor Quality Negative which results in a Poor Quality Plate which ultimately produces Poor Printing Quality. |
Q: Apart from purchasing a platemaker, what supplies would I need?
A: You would need to purchase a negative making kit, polymer plates and a washing pad. To dry the polymer plates you would need a good air dryer. |
Q: Do I need a dark room to produce negatives or polymer stamps?
A: No. You can produce negatives and polymer plates in a room free of sunlight with regular room lighting. Do not to work near windows or direct sunlight as the Ultra Violet rays from the sun will exposure the negative and liquid photopolymer before you have a chance to use them. Draw any curtains or window blinds when using Ultra Violet materials. |
Q: What to do once the photopolymer resin is exposed?
A: The polymer is washed in hot water with a washing pad. The gentle brushing action dissolves and so, removes the unexposed polymer material leaving a relief image that is on the negative. |
Q: Are the negative developer and fixer liquids dangerous?
A: They are not dangerous but as with most chemicals avoid contact with skin, work in a well ventilated area, do not eat and drink while working with them and keep away from children. |
Q: Can I reuse the negative developer and fixer solutions once I have processed my negatives?
A: Yes you can, the developer solution will last up to a week and the fixer solution for about two weeks. They however must be poured and stored into different air tight plastic or glass containers after use. |
Q: Why is post exposure of the photopolymer rubber stamps so important?
A: We need to post expose the photopolymer rubber stamp sheet for approximately 10 minute, this is to strengthen the cross linking of the polymer molecule to give it durability. Liquid polymer must be post exposed without oxygen so the half cured polymer molecues can cured making the finished stamp sheet less tacky. To remove oxygen during the post exposure proces, the polymer sheet is placed in water. |
Q: Is Rubber Stamp making profitable?
A: Yes, Rubber Stamps manufacturing and reselling is extremely profitable. It is a multi billion Dollar business globally. In the UK the rubber stamp manufacturing industry generates around £50 million annually and growing. |
Q: Should I make stamps out of rubber of photopolymer?
A: Either, but photopolymer has in been gaining ground over the last 25 years and now is the most popular method of rubber stamp production in the UK. |
Q: Which model is correct for my requirement?
A: For new start up’s the PLB range and for volume producers the PLX range.
In the PLB range of machines, the .sv model is recommended for custom stamps only while the .i and .iv models are for custom and art stamps. |
Q: What is Imagepac?
A: Imagepac is a new method of handling and processing liquid photopolymer. Liquid polymer is packed into a bag so the stamp making process is cleaner, faster, cheaper (no wastage) and more efficient. |
Q: Should I use liquid polymer in the traditional way or use Imagepac?
A: The method of making rubber stamps using liquid polymer is multi staged, where as imagepac is a single stage process (see stamp making process to see difference). The cost of using liquid polymer is cheaper but when all the other costs including labour is taken into account, imagepac is ultimately cheaper. |
Q: What is the bigger revenue earner, custom stamps or art / craft stamps?
A: Art / craft stamps are globally 3 to 4 times bigger than custom stamps, but in the UK the difference is not as great at the moment but it is moving in that direction. This means that there are still huge opportunities for growth in the UK market. |
Q: How long does it take to make rubber stamps?
A: Excluding artwork creation, between 25 minutes to 40 minutes for up to an A4 sheet worth of stamps (machine exposure size dependent). |
Q: What about competition?
A: Fair competition must always be considered as being healthy. Completion results in enovation, expansion of the market, increases awareness, etc. |
Q: Can I make stamps for personal use only?
A: Yes we have a few products to cater for the personal stamp maker, one being Imagepac daylight and the other being PLI – A5 personal stamp maker. |
Q: Can I run a rubber stamp business from home?
A: Yes, we have a large number of customers operating from their homes. The process of rubber stamp making is not noisy, so you can make it anywhere so long there is no UV light, including sunlight present. Spare bedroom, dinning room, shed, garage, loft, basement etc are all suitable and are used. |
Q: Where can I buy the consumables I would require?
A: From us, however if we do not manufacture or supply specific products then we, where possible, will supply information on where to source the product or products. |
Q: Can I get advice on rubber stamp making as a business?
A: Yes, we have been supplying equipment and materials into this industry for over 25 years and into 80 countries. Therefore our knowledge base is fairly extensive and we are happy to share this knowledge with you. |
Q: How do I make negatives?
A: There are various methods of making negatives. The first is the traditional film technology there the unexposed negative film is exposed with the laser printed (artwork image) artwork transparency film in the platemaker. Once exposed the negative is then developed and chemically fixed to produce a long lasting negative film. The other method is a laser negative there the artwork is printer as a negative resulting in the background being black and the image artwork being clear. The laser printer must be of very high output resolution e.g. 2400DPI to produce a decent laser negative. Once the laser negative is produced it needs to be enhanced using toner density spray or using laser-black enhancing unit. |
Q: How do I create my artwork?
A: There are many software applications in the market for typesetting such as Jetsetter, Page plus, Corel Draw, Photoshop, etc. You can produce hand drawn illustrations, computer generated designs, photocopies of artwork supplied, royally free artwork, commission college or university students to draw artwork on a total transfer of ownership on payment bases, get friends and or family to draw for you, or you may be artistic yourself. |
Q: How much training or practice do I need to be able to make stamps properly?
A: Everyone is different, but generally within a few hours, however in some cases a lot longer. It is one of those things that you either get it or you don’t. We always recommend that if you don’t grasp the technology quickly, it’s best to call us and we will talk you through it. Imagepac is the easiest method of making rubber stamps so for new start ups we strongly recommend it, as your learning curve is much shorter. |
Q: Can I get additional training and / or advice long after I bought a stamp maker?
A: We do not charge for training, repeat training or advice either by phone or e-mail. We are the largest and the oldest manufacturer of photopolymer rubber stamp making equipment in the UK. Being a global pioneer in the photopolymer industry, Polydiam is well placed in terms of support, technology, innovation and more. |
Q: Can I get business and marking information and advice?
A: Yes, we are regularly providing business and marketing ideas to our customers. We want our customers to be successful. We have help hundreds of start up all over the world and if our customers are successful than we will be successful. |
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