Wednesday, April 16, 2014

How to Clean Stamps

Next in our series of helpful stamping posts, we tackle cleaning your stamps!  Removing ink from stamps can be done multiple ways, depending on what kind of ink you use.

Stamps that have been used with pigment or archival inks can be cleaned with a drop of dish soap and a fingernail brush, or soft toothbrush! Simply wet the rubber and nail brush, add a little soap to the brush, and scrub the rubber ever-so-lightly to wipe away the ink without scratching your rubber. Rinse the rubber to see if there is any ink left in between cracks. Repeat steps until there is no ink left on the stamp. Notice: light staining may occur on rubber and wood mounts.




Stamps that have been used with pigment or archival inks can also be cleaned with a baby wipe! For quick cleaning, grab a baby wipe or moist towel, and lightly rub the rubber stamp until the ink is gone. We've noticed that balling the baby wipe and pressing into the rubber crevices and wiping away is the best method. Repeat steps until there is no ink left on the stamp. Notice: light staining may occur on rubber and wood mounts.




Stamps that have been used with StazOn ink should be cleaned with StazOn All-Purpose Stamp Cleaner (dauber top bottle). The top of the bottle has a small sponge saturated with cleaning liquid, which is pressed against the inked rubber, thinning the ink and making it easy to wipe away with a damp towel. This all-purpose cleaner works wonders! Repeat steps until there is no ink left on the stamp. We'll be carrying this in the shop soon!  Notice: light staining may occur on rubber and wood mounts.




These are our fool-proof methods for cleaning stamps. If you've tried different ways to clean your stamps, we'd love to hear them! We're always looking for new cleaning methods, tips & tricks!





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