I've never really gotten on board with clear stamps. I purchased some a while back ago and didn't really care for them. They were sticky, slimy, smelled funny, feel flimsy and ripable, didn't give particularly crisp images, and yellowed and became brittle in a short period of time.
I guess I've been spoiled by my Angel Company stamps because they're real rubber, and so give better, sharper and more detailed images; unmounted so I don't have to store and work around a wood block; I can cut them close so that I have no problem lining up an image or restamping something where I missed part; and I truly haven't found any clear stamps that cost less. I've been paying approximately the same, and sometimes even less for an unmounted rubber stamp that has better definition and in my opinion the same "pros" as a clear acrylic stamp.
But I've been reading Taylor's blog and seeing all her cute cupcake images that were made from clear stamps, so I thought I'd give them another try. I purchased two sets of cupcake stamps and one set of music themed stamps, and then felt like I threw my money away because the ink just wasn't sticking to them. I'd put stamp to ink pad and see near to no ink on the stamp. I'd MASH the stamp into the ink pad and get ink all over the edges of the acrylic block, and finally got some results, but then it was almost as if the ink were puddling up on the stamp and splattering on my paper and looked awful! I read the care for the stamps on the back of the package and searched the internet to see if I could find something about fixing the problem and came up empty. So now I've had these acrylic stamps in my collection for a few months and not been able to use them. Talk about disappointment! Craft-wise, there are few things worse than getting excited about some new supplies and then getting poor results.
I was finally at the point where I was going to put out a plea for help on my blog to see if I could get some advice back in the comments, when my friend Dawnmarie came to my rescue. We were at our DIA gathering and I was complaining about how I couldn't use these stamps when she told me that new acrylic stamps come with a coating on them and I needed to scrub the coating off before I could get the ink to adhere properly. She recommended cleaning them with the Staz On cleaner, scrubbing them really well, and then immediately washing them with soap and water and rinsing thoroughly. I didn't have any Staz On cleaner (or at least I'm not finding it) but I did find a stamp cleaner that had one of those spongy scrubbing caps and I scrubbed some of that on and then used a soft bristle toothbrush to wash them again with the soap and water and FINALLY I can get a decent image from my stamps.
NOW I can stamp cupcakes, after months of drooling over other people's cards with the cute images on them! And hopefully, this post will help some others that may have been having the same problem. I'm sure I'll always like my unmounted rubber stamps better, but at least now I have options, and can use the clear stamps with the images I wanted so badly.
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A good trick for conditioning clear stamps is to use a white eraser to gently rub across the surface of your stamp before first use. Then just rub away any eraser debris and your stamp should accept ink better. If the ink still pools a bit, then use a mild cleaner. Some cleaners (like Stazon cleaner) use alcohol or other harsh chemicals that will over time react with the chemicals in photopolymer stamps and eventually harden or break down your stamps. There are a few cleaners specifically made for clear stamps, like Ranger Clear Stamp cleaner and Stewart Superior UltraClean. I've had good luck using Stampin' Up cleaner as well. As the owner of a clear stamp company, I just thought I'd pass that info along. :)
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