It has come to my attention that perhaps not everyone is familiar with the world of digital stamping. Often times we are all so into our personal passions and hobbies that we forget to explain the basics! I certainly want to get as many crafters as possible into the wonderful world of digital stamping (as well as my other crafty interests), so I’ll be posting more informative topics moving forward. Whether you’ve already started a nice collection of digital stamps or not, I’m sure you’ll get some useful information and cool ideas to play with. It’s all about the basics!
So what are digital stamps exactly? Basically, digital stamps are black and white digital images in JPG or PNG format that you purchase, download and print on your home computer to use. Instead of purchasing a traditional rubber stamp on a block, you get the final line art in a digital file…so the process of stamping turns into the process of printing. I suppose the ultimate difference is that digital stamps are non-tactile digital files whereas traditional stamps are physical items to stamp with.
Why use digital stamps? That is the ultimate question, right? In the crafting and cardmaking world, going digital is inevitable. I don’t think it will ever replace the traditional methods, it’s simply another option to go with that comes with certain advantages. We all have to embrace technology for the innovations and benefits offered. Since digital stamps are image files on the computer, you can easily manipulate the images before printing them out. Resizing, flipping for a mirror image and meshing multiple images together is snap! It saves a lot of time especially if you are constructing a card with multiple stamp images, since you only have to do it once then click to print as many copies as you need. Suddenly the thought of holiday cardmaking isn’t so daunting after all!
Why not use free clip art? I’m sure you are wondering why one would spend money to buy professionally designed digital stamp images versus simply searching on the internet for clip art. Well, certainly no one can stop you from grabbing images from the internet to use…after all, oftentimes you are just creating something for personal use. However, there’s a major difference between random graphics from the internet versus professionally designed digital stamp images. I’m a digital stamp designer myself, so it’s something dear to my heart. First of all, designers are crafters themselves, so they are designing with you in mind. The imagery is made to be used for cardmaking and papercrafting projects…perhaps it is designed in such a way to make it fun to color, embellish and perhaps even easy to cut out as needed. It’s definitely something on the designers mind.
Now let’s talk quality. Professional images are of the highest quality and if something is off, you should definitely contact the designer! Digital stamp images are designed to be printable, meaning 300 dpi print quality. It turns out to be a huge image when you look at it on your computer, but it’s made that way so when printed, the lines and curves are all smooth and crisp. No jagged edges! Often you will also receive PNG files of the digital stamps…meaning the background is transparent. This allows you to easily print on colored or patterned paper without problems and also mesh images together without have to worry about the background color interfering.
Suffice to say that random images you find on the internet will most often not be print quality – duh – it’s made for the web which is usually 72 dpi only! The exception are coloring pages for kids…usually those are also meant to be printable, so they can also be used as digital stamps. However, you won’t find the design variety and detail in many of the professional digital stamp designers out there. Ultimately, you are purchasing the creative artwork of a designer with a unique style.
Okay, so how do I get started with digital stamps? There’s a super easy way to get started with digital stamps – go try out the freebies! I have many posted on my blog or join my CDAC group for more freebies, but you can also do a quick search online. Obviously, anything offered for free has the possibility of not being of the highest quality – it all depends on where you get it. But I think it’s a great way to get started before you start purchasing the images you really want. Download the digital stamp image files onto your computer, unzip or open the folder as necessary, then view the image you want and print. In your print dialog box, you should be able to control the size of the image as you need for your particular project.
A tip when printing with inkjet printers – crafters often have issues with ink smearing when coloring with wet inks. Sometimes it helps to let your printed image sit overnight before using or you can blast it with a heat tool to set the ink before coloring over. That should eliminate the smearing problem – otherwise if you use a laser printer or a photo copy, no smearing will occur since the printing process is already heat set.
Ultimately, once your image is printed out, you use it as you would traditional rubber stamp images. You color, embellish, cut out and add to your crafting projects. The most common usage is for handmade cards, however stamping has always had a place in scrapbooking as well. Nowadays stamps are all the rage in art journaling and as well as home decor. It’s simply another tool in your craft tool box. For example, I’ve used digital stamp images to hand-embroidery with as well – just think outside of the box and you’ll find many new fun ways to use your digital stamps.
I hope you’ve learned something from this post and picked up some cool ideas with explore. Let me know if you have any questions about digital stamping, the design process or anything else and I’ll be happy to respond. I will also be writing more posts with new ideas and projects to share 
Ciao ciao!
If you are looking for digital stamps, please visit my digital stamp shop here! I also have digital scrapbooking and colored sticker type graphics at CatScrap – thanks for your support!
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4 Comments
Wow that sounds very fun! But unless I’m part of that group of people who have a laser printer (or any printer really) and ink, it’s not as accessible.
Hi Melissa – Great point! I think a lot of folks might feel that way. The laser printer is the best, but photocopies also work – because it’s heat set ink. Otherwise there are plenty of crafters who use ink jets… I have an inkjet myself! You just have to make sure the ink gets time to dry and you can heat it with your heat tool to set it yourself. Depending on the type of paper you use, sometimes just waiting overnight means it won’t bleed. Definitely something to try out!
I love the fact you can print them, and if the size is large you can shrink it, basically you can alter the size of the image before printing, where as with a rubber stamp or acrylic that is the size you get! By printing it you can place it anywhere on the paper, just like a rubber stamp and either way if you are going to cut it out after coloring it, the same work is required with both but the digi is cheaper, and the free clip-art is well FREE! YAY!
Hi Natalia! Great point… you are so right that there are many advantages to digital stamps. I think there’s a place for all types…different pros an cons