Interesting Things to Know About Rubber Stamps

You use rubber stamps in your office day in and day out. It is worth knowing a little bit more about stamps and how they originated. 

A little bit of history

Stamping is nothing new. Man has been using stamping technique since centuries. However, rubber stamps came into being around 1844. Some ascribe the development of the rubber stamp to Charles Goodyear who discovered the process of vulcanisation. However, he did not create any stamp. It was left to James Woodruff who was inspired by the use of vulcanised rubber by dentists to come up with letter moulds using vulcanised rubber in 1866 to create the first rubber stamps. However, JFW Dorman is said to be the first to manufacture stamps on a commercial scale in 1866. 

The process 

The process of manufacturing stamps varies. The earliest one, still in use today, makes use of metal lettering dies. Rubber is placed and pressed on the die and cured with steam. Choices are limited to the typefaces. If you wanted a design then a die had to be engraved and this added to the cost. 

Photopolymer technology was a giant leap in stamp manufacturing technology. The process makes use of a liquid polymer sensitive to light. It is exposed to UV rays through a litho film that has the design or lettering. The stamp is then developed to wash away the unexposed surface. However, there are issues relating to sharpness and clarity. Letters such as “o”, “e”, “g” for example, may not print clearly. 

Laser cutting became inexpensive not so long ago. The technology is applied to a sheet of flat rubber. Like photopolymer technique, one can create images and letters using computer-driven lasers. The edges are sharp and there are fewer issues with indentations. The top brands today use laser cut rubber for their stamps. 

Today you have self-inking stamps and multicolour stamps that allow you to print in as many as 15 colours in just one go. That is how far technology has advanced. Trodat and Colop offer multicolour stamps that are truly marvellous. 

Offshoot

Rubber stamps were inspired by the then prevalent method of platen printing and it was natural that rubber stamps should inspire other forms of printing. Silicone rubber and photo technologies made it possible to create stamps that could print on any surface and on any material and shape. 

You use rubber stamps manually. A similar stamp mounted in a machine allows for high-speed flexo printing on plastic sheets. 

Silicone can be shaped to any profile and used to print on round containers or even irregular profiles using the pad printing technology. 

The word rubber stamp also has a different connotation as in rubber stamp cabinet and rubber stamp employees. This means such people do as they are told and take orders blindly. 

Artists took to making rubber stamps and creating fine art prints though it is not quite as widespread as one thought it would be. 

When you hold a rubber stamp you are holding a piece of history in your hand. StampStore in Australia offers the widest range of rubber stamps from the plain old wooden one to sophisticated multicolour Trodat.