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HOW TO MOUNT RUBBER STAMPS
@2004 Melanie Sage

During the manufacturing of the traditional rubber stamp, stamps are first engraved in
magnesium, then transferred to matrix board, and then pressed in a "vulcanizer." The sheet
that is formed in the vulcanizer is a rectangle sheet of the stamp images. The images are then
closely trimmed, backed with a cushion, and placed onto an indexed piece of wood. The
wood serves as a handle with which to apply pressure. The index on the wood shows what
the stamp looks like. The cushion between the stamp and the amount allows for "give" and
allows the stamp to be applied evenly to the surface of the paper or item being printed.

As artists know, space and economy quickly become issues when purchasing art supplies.
These are two reasons that some artists turn to unmounted rubber stamps. "Unmounted"
generally refers to the state of the stamp before it is trimmed and added to cushion and
wood. It is the rubber, only, and the buyer has the option to mount the stamps on wood, or to
use an alternative mounting source. Unmounted stamps are often significantly cheaper than
mounted stamps, and take up much less space. Some companies only offer their stamps in
the unmounted form. However, most people prefer to mount their stamps at some point for
easier printing. There are several methods for doing this, and I will discuss some of the
methods briefly below.

Cutting the rubber:

In most any system of stamp mounting, it will be necessary to trim your rubber stamps. Close
trimming will help to avoid shadows created by excess rubber around the edges of the
images. When trimming, it is important not to undercut the rubber. That is, the cut should
angle away from the image so that the base of the rubber is very straight or slightly wider
than the cut near the top of the image. This is so the rubber that supports the underside of
the stamp is not cut away. Although sharp household scissors will work, special scissors are
marketed for cutting rubber. My favorite are Kai Scissors- they will cut through rubber like
butter, and can be resharpened. They retail for about $16.95.

Temporary mounts:

In the traditional store-bought stamp, wood is used as a permanent mount. To conserve
space and money, many stampers opt for a temporary mounting system. Many temporary
systems rely on acrylic blocks as the base of support for the stamp. For any system, it is
good to have acrylic blocks in a variety of sizes to accommodate the different sizes of
stamps in your personal collection. All of the below mounting methods use acrylic blocks as
mounts.

Hook and loop:

In this method of mounting, special acrylic blocks with notched grooves hold the "hook" side
of a "hook and loop" system. The "loop" comes in adhesive sheets, and is applied to the
back of each stamp. When it comes time to use the stamps, they can be applied to the blocks
quickly. The most widely used system is marketed by HALOS, and the new products offered
by HALOS include clear hook and loop. With these products, the "loop" does not become
fuzzy or leave mess on your stamped projects. This is my preferred method of temporary
mounting. HALOS is comparable to Velcro, but trimming Velcro for stamps often leaves black
fuzz on stamped art, and the thin lengths of the "hook" of Velcro will leave an uneven
stamping surface that the HALOS product accommodates for by recessing the hook in the
acrylic block. This is the method I generally use to mount my own stamps.

Tack-It:

Repositionable glue products, such as Aleene’s Tack it Over and Over glue, allow glue to be
placed on the back of a rubber stamp image so the image can be placed on a acrylic block
and then removed. These images are best stored on plastic of page protectors so that dust
does not get on the back of the glue. With this method, rubber cushion is usually adhered
permanently to the back of each stamp, and the glue is applied on the back of the cushion.
The glue must dry before first use, before it can be temporarily tacked "over and over" to the
mount. The glue may have to be re-applied after about a dozen uses. See manufacture
directions. In this method, acrylic blocks or a set of wood blocks can be used.

Static Cling/Vinyl Sheets:

In this method, double-sided sticky foam is generally wedged between the rubber stamp
image and the vinyl cling. The vinyl cling will cling temporarily to an acrylic block. This
method takes some trial and error in getting a good grip between the cling and the block.
Several people market static cling vinyl for stamping, and the quality of cling also varies.

Wood block mounting:

If space is no concern and you like all of your stamps mounted on wood, you may want to
mount all your stamps. You might prefer to wood mount your favorite images. To do this, it’s
best to first choose a cushion (either rubber or sticky-back foam) and then use the foam-
backed stamp to stamp the top of your wood block. Embossing ink can be used, then
sprayed with a wood sealer. Water-based inks will likely run when sprayed; permanent inks
can be used. Rubber cushion is generally applied with rubber cement; foam generally has
peel-and-stick adhesive. A good quality cushion will be dense and have some give, and
spring back up when impressed.

Storing temporarily mounted stamps:

In my years of stamping, I have seen this done many different ways. For the organized, page
protectors with pockets can be used in notebooks. The pages should also hold a stiff piece
of paper to support the heavy stamp images. Notebooks full of unmounted stamps can be
sorted by theme, and a print of each image can be stored in its pocket for easy browsing. The
same method can be used with hanging picture pockets. Another fun way to organize is in
decorative tins; I once visited a friend who had all her stamps stored by theme in decorative
tea tins on high shelves around the top of her art room. It was pretty, and seemed to suit her
organization style. Photoboxes can also work nicely.

Not mounting:

We have explored the options for mounting stamps; not mounting is also an option. Very few
of my personal stamps are mounted at all. In a pinch, I grab an acrylic block, a few pieces of
double-sided sticky tape, and my stamp. I put my paper down on a small pile of newspaper
for cushion, ink the stamp by placing the pad face down on the rubber, and stamp. This
works well for small stamp jobs, and gets the ink on paper. Not mounting is also nice for
stamping on curved surfaces like candles or round boxes. This also takes some trial-and-
error, but not having a mounting system does not make rubber stamps unusable.