Cling stamps VS. Clear Stamps

[Beautifulsoul]

Hey,

I didn't know where to post this question so, hopefully this is the right place.

I was wondering if there is really a significant difference between cling and clear stamps? When I went to buy my first clear stamps back in the summer, the lady helping me told me that cling stamps are a bit more difficult to use than clear... I looked up how you use them and it doesn't seem like it's more difficult to me. Any input or suggestions? Or what do you prefer? Thanks!

I have many clear stamps and I love them. I'm looking for a little more info about cling stamps before I buy any.

[Onyxnox]

I like both - but I found that some cling stamps are a bit more fragile, if they are quite sticky, and you aren't careful, the more finicky pieces can break off.  Beyond that, I like the both.

[Beautifulsoul]

I like both - but I found that some cling stamps are a bit more fragile, if they are quite sticky, and you aren't careful, the more finicky pieces can break off.  Beyond that, I like the both.

Thanks! ...I have noticed that too! I bought these Tim Holtz clear stamps and they were incredibly sticky but seemed really sturdy. I'm still very careful with them anyways.

[dnelsong]

As a long-time stamper, I recommend rubber mounted on cling foam over clear stamps.  First, rubber gives more consistent and better impressions with any type of ink. There are some inks that work better with clear stamps than others.  Some clear stamps will deteriorate over time, becoming sticky and easily ripped. Rubber will last years as long as it's kept from direct sun or you avoid cleaning with alcohol (alcohol dries rubber out).  Clear stamps are generally cheaper, so if you don't care about image quality or about long-life for your images, use clear.  Using chalk ink on clear stamps for the initial impression will improve subsequent impressions with dye ink.  There are better and worse qualities of clear stamps, depending on the material used to make them.  Stazon ink will permanently stain clear stamps, but can often be cleaned pretty thoroughly from rubber (if you care about that kind of thing).  Debra

[Beautifulsoul]

Thanks for all the very useful information Debra! I will definitely keep those things in mind as I continue to experiment with stamping.

I have bought a few different brand names so far and I've noticed a big difference with the quality of some of them. I know which ones NOT to buy again! I love Inkadinkado the best from what I've purchased so far. Although on a few of the cling stamps the sticky images that cling to the block seem to peel off if I'm not gentle enough. I think this is what Onyxnox was talking about?

[dnelsong]

What I thought Onyxnox was talking about was cheaper clear stamps. If they are old or cheap, they rip more easily.  To clarify my vocabulary in case your's is different:  there's unmounted rubber that you mount on your own cling foam. There's also rubber already mounted on cling foam, and there's clear stamps--best quality are made from polymer; worst quality are silicone or plastic.

Here's a link to a short article talking about clear stamps:  http://www.stampavie.com/about-clear-stamps.php.  And another: http://www.blockheadstamps.com/TechniquesPages/clear-stamps.html

Again, I prefer rubber, and at this point buy bare rubber almost exclusively and mount it myself on cling foam.

But, again, it depends on how you plan to use the stamps, how long you plan to keep them, how much you want to spend, and how much space you have for storage.  There is no one best stamp, there is only best for you.

It's very wonderful to share what I've learned. Thank you for the opportunity.

Debra

[Beautifulsoul]

Thank you debra for the clarification. I didn't realize there was such thing as unmounted rubber stamps. From what I've seen, I thought there were only cling stamps where the rubber has already been mounted on the foam. I will definitely remember the best quality for clear stamps are polymer. Thanks for the link references.

[Onyxnox]

yes - I have found the silicone ones tear easily - But one thing I like about clear ones is that some of them can be manipulated to curve the image or lettering abit so you can stamp on a curve.