Polymer Stamp making Jan 2017 ( 6) 

You are most welcome Beverly. This latest technique is giving me perfect results. (in fact I'm in the middle of making umbrella stamps this morning!). For the price of one of those small multi packs of gel you can get A LOT of the bottle liquid. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to handle it in the dark, nor is it overly light sensitive. Now because you have been so kind as to leave a comment, I'll let you into a little secret. I have used the gel to ink up an unused pad. Stored in a drawer since 5th oct, it is still fine. It is just as good as a Versamark embossing pad! :) Works brilliantly and a LOT cheaper! I make it a point to buy as few specialist items as possible!

Darlene, my latest video on stamps has just this minute been published, so watch that one too!

You're welcome!

Thanks! It has been a road of trial and error! Have a look at my stamp making playlist to see the latest techniques.

Glad I could help!

I strongly recommend that you watch the later videos in this (stamp making) playlist (no 16 onwards) as this is quite an old video. The lamps new are not very expensive anyway unless you go for a branded one - and there is no need to do that!

Firstly, you really need to watch my more recent videos on this as it is very old and methods have been refined. I do not know if perspex can be used, it would probably work but affect the timings. This will only make stamps up to about 12 cm max and that would be pushing it. I have tried a two hand lamp but it was way too powerful.

@@createinspain thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it. I wasn't expecting one, since I left so many messages. I am sure you're overwhelmed with people responding and all their questions, as it is. Soni understand that and I'm very grateful for a response. I did watch many of your videos and got lots of information. I dabble in many different crafts and have worked with epoxy resin for many years. I feel my experience helps me understand things a bit better, especially that everything has a learning curve. And that's the hard part of any new thing, but it can also be very rewarding. I am really concerned now, after watching many videos, that my new lamp is going to cure way too fast. If a 18 watt lamp cures in 3 minutes, I really think 72 watts is excessive and will cure almost immediately. I say 18W because your machine only had two, 9 watt bulbs in it at the time. Im Trying to decide whether or not to return it. It just has such a large space underneath that could make the larger stamps I want to to make. I tried to find another large one with less wattage but not a lot available in this size in the same price range. I have ordered the ink (the green one) and it should be here Thursday. I wish we had the clear here in the US. I think I'll keep looking. Thanks, again, for taking the time to respond. Hope you're having a lovely day or night wherever you are.

@@notebookluvr No problem, hope you manage to get sorted!

Darlene, For this size set up you are limited to approx 10cm square images. However, that is only a limitation of the UV lamp and if you are looking for something bigger, you can make up your own light box to another size, if you have a handy friend! (Or if more serious, buy a bigger uv lamp ready made.) However, I have not had the need and you can always split a large sentiment into lines or whatever should it be necessary.

You can do whatever images you like. The only ones I have not tried is photo type ones but that does not interest me.

Tosha, it depends what you want to use it for! For making stamps, you need either UV tubes or UV LED bulbs. If you want to do your nails, it depends on the type of polish you want to buy. There are normal polishes (dried with a fan) : UV polish which can be cured with UV or LED and also some which can only be cured with the UV LED lamps.

The stamp can be used with any ink. Versamark ink is the clear ink that most people use for embossing.

I DON"T SELL the machine - it is a standard UV nail lamp, available from many on line sources.

That is exactly what I use. It just needs to be the same sort of shape so you can put the design in easily.

createinspain I noticed that your uv lamp have 2 bulbs... my uv lamp instead has 60 tiny leds (12 W) and the cooking time is shorter then the classic uv lamp...have you ever used it before?

The lamp originally had 4, but I took 2 out to help with curing times. At the moment I am using 4 LED lamps with lots of LEDs - but to get even cure, I face them away from the inside, reflecting the light. Curing time is down to about 45 sec each side.

createinspain thank you!

@@createinspain can you explain what you mean by facing them away from the light? How many Watts are your newer lamps? Also, what color is the inside of the lamp? The one I got has a bunch of UV/LEDs and the inside is white. I purposely bought white because I thought it would be more reflective. The old one I have is similar to yours with the longer curved bulbs and the inside is a bunch of bluish reflective material covering the whole inside area.

You can, if you can cut it accurately and cleanly. I have another video that is more recent, check the playlist, but you can also print on tracing paper.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-R9Oppwu9tjY.html Watch this one to see how to do this with a laser print on tracing paper. (I use an electronic cutter for vinyls). There are now over 30 videos on my stamp making playlist, and this is one of the older ones you have watched.

You need to look at more recent video playlist - this one in particular ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-87apDJQniOE.html I have a 'most important stamp making' playlist. Everything you need to know is in there.

Polymer pads? If you mean the hard polymer sheets, then yes it can be but it will depend on your supplier, you need to do some research.

Sorry my ipad auto corrected lol. I mean those polymer packs like imagpac makes.

lol, know that problem well! The answer is yes, this is definitely cheaper in the long run. Like with the packs, it will take a while to get it right but once you do....Check out my playlist on polymer stamp making, as there are quite a few!

OK, here is the company that makes the Polymer - the link should enable everyone to find their supplier. www.colop.com/en/dealer-locater.html I DON'T print my designs, I use a plotter - a Silver Bullet, to cut out designs with Sure Cuts a Lot - but you could use a Silhouette Cameo, (Cameo uses different software) from a good quality (wall art type) black vinyl. I stick the vinyl to pieces of 'letter files' (non coloured, they are plastic) and kiss cut it. That means cutting through ONLY the vinyl so I can weed the design. That gives me my version of a negative to use. Hope that makes it clearer for you! If you are really stuck, you can make a negative from thin black card, if you can find one that cuts well enough, black card tends to be a bit of a pain. I think I will make another short video on supplies, just so no one gets confused!

createinspain terrific! Thank you for the prompt reply! I have had a little success by printing my designs onto two transparencies, and lining them together so that the black is truly opaque and blocks the UV light...but it's not a perfect system. My brain is spinning and now I'm thinking you could cut a piece of black card (I have the Brother Scan N Cut), sandwich it between two pieces of clear masking tape so that it's less messy to work with. Your thoughts? Thank you again...would love to see a tutorial where you actually make a stamp from a design or drawing. Have a great day!

You really want to use something over the design that you don't mind throwing away - hence the cling film. However, you do have something in the States that is hard for me to get (or very pricey) but is cheap for you, and that is Glad 'Press n Seal', which would be easier I think. This keeps your design clean in case you wish to use it again. The beauty of the vinyl is that it cuts so cleanly - necessary for this.

createinspain that makes sense. But finding the liquid polymer is not easy to find in the states. I found 4 suppliers near me and I will call them today. A lot of suppliers say they have the polymer but don't necessarily sell it--they use it to make their own stamps. I would love to see another one of your videos that shows the supplies in more detail. Amazon doesn't carry the liquid photo polymer 🙁

Made and posted another video - on supplies yesterday!

Does a led uv lamp work as well?

@@pewpewcat7679 I see you have found the answer!

no

Tarun - if you mean the lamp, it is a standard UV nail lamp used by manicurists. Available on Amazon, eBay, etc.

Yes. Watch this playlist The Most IMPORTANT Stamp Making Videos! It is more recent and contains all the information you need.

Firstly, you need to watch the more recent videos in this stamp making playlist, to get the best results. This is the liquid photopolymer ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3ff97DH11zc.html

Colop

There should only be a small amount of goo to wash off. I suggest you watch some of the later videos in the 'most important stamp making' playlist.

good

Lorraine, in this instance the negative is made by kiss cutting black vinyl on acetate - however, if you have a laser printer, you can print a negative onto normal, cheap, tracing paper and that will work. See my stamp making playlist here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BHmsC42nIxw.html

Sandra, thank you I am so new to this I didn't know what kiss cutting is so i looked it up, I have a new cricut so now I shall try this. Cheers

No problem.The hardest part is getting the Photopolymer liquid!

Sandra would this work www.rubberstampmaterials.com/imagepacpouchpolymer.aspx

No. It's a UV polymer.

Yeah it is also used as a resin for 3D printing! Light sensitive photo polymer resin!

Please read comments below.

Lm Bennett - I have no experience of the polymer sheets or the frequency of the lamps required. The sheets are quite pricey from what I have seen.

It depends what country you are in. It is NOT nail gel, that is a different stuff altogether. What you need is Photopolymer Stamp Liquid. Colop is the company I use.

Hi i know it is not nail gel, just highlighting that was all i could find. I went to the company you mentioned and although they show it under products there does not seem to be anywhere you can add to a basket etc. I am in the UK. Thank you for all your videos i am slowly working through them and they are very insightful. Happy crafting

Just wanted to make sure you were not looking for the wrong thing! The best thing to do is actually call Colop. I spoke with them late last year and they do sell a stamp liquid. Make it very clear what you are wanting it for - craft stamp making at home and they should supply you with what you need. A 1 KG bottle will do a lot of stamps. Check out my stamp making playlist to find the latest ones, methods have evolved over time!

It isn't paper in this case, it is black vinyl cut with a plotter, on clear plastic.Watch the 'Most important stamp making' playlist for other methods with print.

Lamp? On line somewhere, like I did.

The company still make polymers. What they don't seem to do is put them on websites! What you need to do is telephone your nearest Colop head office and ask for liquid photopolymer for stamp making/ scrapbook stamps. This should get you what you want. I did have an email from the main head office recently, but when I went to reply to it, I got a message that the guy was out of the office for a month until early March (7th or so). It is my intention to try to find a source contact or hub for the domestic user, to try to make getting this stuff easier, no matter where you are!

You can cut the vinyl on any cutter but I wouldn't want to cut it by hand as accuracy is essential for many designs.

It will depend where you are. The company is called Colop - they are international.I did make a video on supplies. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oZGo6RuwG44.html

Sorry not to reply sooner, for some reason I was unable to see your comment even though I had an alert for it - it just wasn't showing up. I hope you have better success with your new gel. I do think the kits tried to make the process simple but there were too many variables for it to work with a one size fits all approach. There have been significant improvements in the gel I get recently.

That's certainly one of the best instruction videos that I have watched. Thank you.

The best black ink for clear very black images is versafine onyx black ink. Although it's a very juicy pigment ink its worth it to have to wait for it to dry to get really crisp black images!!!Was the black you were using memento?

I do not sell these lamps.

Merlin, Here is a video with supply links below. It is made by COLOP. (I am not affiliated to them in any way). . There are further links to suppliers in the comments there. Check out the latest video on making templates too. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oZGo6RuwG44.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nwL1yksP3RI.html

createinspain did you mean this product: www.colop.com/en/product-overview/systems-materials/photopolymer/photopolymer-vx55-1kg.html . because this was the only photopolymer resin i found on that page

Merlin, it is an improved formulae - slightly firmer than the one I have, but mine costs €11 ish a kg, that one is listed at around €15 a kg. Probably means mine is going to be discontinued when they run out of stock! (prices according to a 2015 catalogue + tax and post of course! Different countries may not stock all of them. There may be a difference in exposure times - but those are so variable it won't matter!

createinspain ooh so thats the same product, just with some improvements?

I believe so, but if you are worried, check with them before purchase. According to the brochure, it is 55 shore (hardness) as against 50 for the older one, and in theory, has a good pouring spout (mine has the same, but not great for small stamp pouring!)

Didn't realise I am so elusive! :)

took me most of the day to find you i thought i book marked you lol all i can say is if it wasn't for the fact that i vaguely new what you thumbnails looked like i would still be looking all that keeps coming up was the Tessa Collins stamp maker it was a little frustrating lol once i am on a mission theres no way im gonna stop until i find what i am looking for ;0

Oh dear! Hope you've got me well and truly book marked now!

heck YEAH lol

If you want to do this, watch the more recent videos and the ones in the 'most important stamp making' playlist for up to date methods.