News on the Street – Cling Stamps

When I started stamping with Stampin’ Up!® stamps, there were two kinds of stamps – wood mount and foam. You’re familiar with wood-mount stamps. These are the stamps we’ve had for, well, ever. When I was a young demo…

Insert Sidetrack Here

All I can hear when I read, “When I was a young…” is “warthog.” Amelia is enamored with The Lion King these days. We listen to Disney Kids on Pandora in the car, and when she heard some of the songs from The Lion King, she had to watch the movie. Fortunately, we still had a copy from when the boys were little. It’s a videocassette, but it still works. And, yes, we do still have the videocassette players. Mike had the foresight to purchase several players that would work with DVDs and VHS recordings. Once I get that ear worm out of my head, I’ll continue…

The Stamp Evolution

When I was a young demo (and by “young,” I mean in demo years, of course), wood-mount stamps came in a clam shell case with a sheet of rubber stamps, labels, and wood blocks. We had to trim the stamps from the rubber, mount them to the stamps, then add the label. The other option for many of the sets was foam stamps. The rubber was mounted to a foam base. You did not have to assemble anything; the stamps were ready to go. This option was a little less expensive than wood-mount, but because it was foam, it didn’t always offer the best image. I opted for this version of stamps until I was confident enough to trim and mount my own stamps.

Clear-Mount Stamps and Die-cut Rubber

Somewhere along the way, Stampin’ Up!® started offering Clear-Mount Stamps.  This was a lovely price-saver option, because there were no blocks included in the stamp sets. You simply punched out the stamp (it was already die-cut), added a label, then mounted the stamp to an acrylic block while you stamped, then removed it when you were finished. Sadly, however, the labels didn’t stick well to blocks, and many stampers were frustrated when their stamp fell off the block in the middle of a project. I stopped adding the labels to the stamps, because they stuck to the blocks better without labels. This was frustrating to stampers who stamped upside-down images, however.

Photopolymer Stamps

After years of hearing Shelli Gardner, Stampin’ Up!® Co-Founder and (then) CEO say, “Stampin’ Up!® will never sell clear stamps,” Stampin’ Up!® introduced Photopolymer Stamps, and Shelli had to “eat her words,” so to speak. (Never say, “Never!” right?) Photopolymer stamps are clear, so you can see exactly where you’re placing them. Photopolymer stamps can also be manipulated on a block so you can change the shape (instead of a straight line, stamp a sentiment in an arc, for example). While I love our red rubber stamps – and they give a wonderfully detailed image – I’m a huge photopolymer fan as well.

Introducing Cling Stamps

When you get your new Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-bration Brochure, you’ll see something different. There are cling stamps. Cling stamps are red rubber stamps that look exactly like Clear-mount stamps at first glance. But the labels are super, super, SUPER sticky, so they will not fall off those blocks any more. I just need to say, “YAY!” Now my stampers will be happy when they use my stamps (because there will be labels), and I’ll be happy because I won’t have an inked stamp fall off the block and onto my cardstock – inky side down, of course – right at the end of a project.

Beginning with the 2019 Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-bration Brochure, all new stamps will be either Cling or Photopolymer, and the transition will be complete with the 2019-20 Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalog. We used the cling stamps at OnStage in November – and all my new red rubber stamps are Cling – and I love them! You do need to be careful when you take the stamp off the block. Because the label is so clingy, you can damage/rip the foam if you just grab and go like the clear-mounts. But it’s easy to remember to simply lift from a corner and gently remove the stamp from the block, and they stick so very well to the block. I’m in love!

For all you wood-mount lovers out there – I’m sorry. We won’t be offering any more wood-mount stamps. The market just didn’t support it. But you will love the clings, I promise! One word of caution: Many of us stored stamps in the cases with the label down (stuck to the bottom of the case). The clings are so clingy, you may not want to do that. I haven’t had problems, but I’ve heard reports of the stamps sticking to the case. (You can use the spatula from the Take Your Pick Tool to remove them, of course.) I store mine rubber side down, and leave the label sheet over the labels. I haven’t had any problems at all.

Once the Occasions Catalog and Sale-a-bration Brochure go live, I’ll share a video with you with more information.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Can you believe Christmas is only four days away?

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!