Merchem MD - Manufacturing process of Rubber Stamp

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Manufacturing of Rubber Stamp

• Rubber was discovered in the Amazon River Basin
  in 1736 by the French explorer Charles Marie de
  la Condamine. Cubes were made of the substance
  and used for rubbing out lead pencil marks, but
  the material was unstablewhen the temperature
  rose, the cubes turned to jelly. This difficulty
  was solved in 1839 by Charles Goodyear. Some
  years before, Goodyear had begun pondering this
  problem with rubber, and he was determined to
  solve it.
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Raw Materials

• Rubber stamp manufacturers do not produce the
  elements that make a rubber stamp directly from
  raw materials. Raw materials include latex
  rubber, wood for the mounting blocks,
  adhesive-backed padding that is placed between
  the rubber and the block, and adhesive-backed
  labels. All of these items are produced by
  specialty manufacturers who supply them to rubber
  stamp makers
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Design

• Designs for rubber art stamps originate at the
  hands of a variety of artists. Large-scale
  manufacturers of rubber stamps use original art
  and hire freelance artists to produce unique
  designs that are copyrighted by the artist and
  manufacturer. Some makers use existing artwork
  produced by name artists whose artworkin rubber
  stamp formis then uniquely available from one
  manufacturer. Some rubber stamp companies will
  also produce custom designs from artwork provided
  by the customer, and, of course, manufacturers of
  rubber stamps for items such as return addresses
  produce stamps from data supplied by the customer.

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• Usually, this information is provided to fit a
  template or a specified word or letter limit so
  that multiple stamps can be produced at once,
  despite the unique contents. Almost any kind of
  artwork can be produced in rubber stamp form.
  Another rubber stamp revolution has been
  developed by manufacturing large blocks with
  families of words (like names of flowers) or
  greetings (such as "Happy Birthday" repeated in a
  variety of lettering styles) these blocks are
  used by stampers to make greeting cards, wrapping
  paper, and other personal products with a theme
  or message. By giving classes and showing
  hobbyists clever ways of using these products,
  manufacturers fuel demands for their creations.
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The ManufacturingProcess

• After a rubber stamp design is selected for
  manufacture, a drawing of the design is
  photographed, and multiple copies of the image
  are transferred to an aluminum plate. The plate
  is then bathed in acid that eats away the exposed
  metal so the design is etched or raised above the
  plate.
• The engraved plate (a positive image) is placed
  on a sheet of Bakelite, a registered brand of
  resins and plastics that can be used to produce
  finely detailed molds, in the rubber stamp press
  or vulcanizer. Under heat and pressure in the
  vulcanizer, the engraved plate leaves a negative
  mold in the resin sheet. A sheet of rubber is
  then laid over the Bakelite mold, and both are
  heated in a vulcanizer to produce the final
  positive image in rubber.
• Vulcanizing is a process in which crude or
  synthetic rubber is treated with heat and
  pressure to alter its properties of strength and
  chemical stability.
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Quality Control

• Because so much of the rubber stamp-making
  process is done by hand, quality control is built
  into the process. Each laborer sees the work of
  the previous handler, so substandard stamps can
  be removed anywhere in the process. Quality is
  also ensured by using only the finest materials.
  Manufacturers use 100 Goodyear rubber and maple
  blocks that are often superior to furniture
  quality maple. Adhesives used for the adhering
  material and the indexes are chosen for long life
  and ability to withstand reasonable ranges of
  temperature and humidity.
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The Future

• The future of rubber stamps is both practical and
  fun. Stamps used by businesses will be required
  in many kinds of applications until a paperless
  society is truly achieved. Other practical
  applications like signature and return address
  stamps are also not likely to be replaced by
  computer applications in the near future. As for
  art stamps and the rubber stamp hobby, this
  interest appears to be thriving as stampers seek
  to create individual cards, letters,
  communications, and keepsakes that convey their
  personalities and talent.
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