Let's Talk About Digital Stamping

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead.  Today I'd like to talk about digital stamping.  While digital stamps are not new to the market, they seem to be increasing in popularity.  Ever since I began designing cards recently for RG Avenue (who uses a LOT of digital images!) I have become a lot more adept at using this type of stamp and I have come to really like them.  While I still have a lot to learn about manipulating the images, today we can talk about some of the basics of digital stamping.

What ARE digital stamps?

Digital stamps, also known as “digi stamps" are simply high-resolution digital images.  The most significant difference between a digital stamp and a traditional stamp is that there is NO physical stamp.  A digital stamp is just the image or images.  Think of it kind of like computer clip art.  These digital images can be color or black and white.  They are downloaded onto a computer where they can be manipulated - resized or altered before being printed.

Below is an example of a digital stamp.  No, you cannot tell the difference simply by looking at this image if this is a digital stamp or a physical stamp.  This particular stamp set is called "Bold Bouquet" from RG Avenue.  This stamp, like many others from RG Avenue, comes in both options - digital or physical.

What do I need?

One of the benefits of using digital stamps is that you don't need anything special!  As long as you have access to a computer and a printer you have the two most important pieces.  Any inkjet printer will work fine; you don’t need expensive, fancy equipment.  But, if you do own a laserjet printer, this will work too. 

Downloading digital stamps:

Typically after you purchase a digital stamp you will receive an email with the digital file.  Most digital stamps will come in .PNG, .JPG, .CSV  or .PDF files.  Some digital stamps might be provided in .ZIP files, so you will need to know how to unzip a file.  Save the digital stamp file to your computer’s hard drive with an easily identifiable name (trust me, this helps to find it later)!   Open up the saved file using either a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, or a photo editing program such as Photoshop Elements, LightRoom or a free website such as PicMonkey or GIMP.  You can either print the image(s) out directly, or manipulate the image(s) before you print them out.  You can add digital image to cards, scrapbooks, home decor and so much more!

Advantages of digital stamps:

• Cost effective - on average digital stamps are less expensive than traditional stamps
  
• More space -  digital stamps are stored right on a computer and do not take up physical space
• Immediate downloads - Unlike purchasing a physical stamp where it can take anywhere between 2 and 10 days to ship out in the mail, digital stamps are available for immediate download because the file is sent directly to your email upon purchasing
• The ability to change the size/shape - with some slight editing, you can alter the size/color of your stamps to better fit your needs
• E-Cutting machines - whether you have a Cricut or Scan & Cut, or any other electronic cutting machine, digital stamps don't need dies because most can be scanned through an e-cutting machine
• No deterioration - unlike rubber which can dry up, or photopolymer which can stain, digital stamps do not lose their quality over time
• Environmentally friendly -  for those concerned about waste, digital stamps use less resources
  

Disadvantages of digital stamps:

• 3D images - You cannot "stamp" the images on wood/plastic/clay or other 3D type materials.  Any product that cannot be run through a printer presents a challenge.  It will be difficult to use digital stamps on fabric, very thick or very thin paper and cardstock, large pieces of paper, pre-formed boxes and many other items.  With a little creativity ingenuity (and lots of time and patience) you might be able to find a way to work around this issue
  
• Masking - unless you alter the stamp digital before printing, you cannot mask a stamp after the fact
• Heat embossing - Because the ink is already printed on paper, you can't stamp with a Versamark pad to heat emboss the image.  The workaround is to trace the image with a Versamark pen, but this result isn't nearly so precise and well defined
• Computer knowledge - it does take a small amount of familiarity and learning to work with digital stamps
• Licensing - Licensing arrangements can be confusing, so you need to read the terms and conditions for each image you purchase as sellers have different terms you must follow to avoid copyright issues (for instance - sharing with your friends is frowned upon!)
  

What types of paper to use for digital stamps?

Technically you can print on any type of paper that will go through your printer, but you will want to use specific paper designed for your coloring medium.  If you are going to color your image with watercolor, you will want to be sure to run a sheet of watercolor paper (like Strathmore) through your printer to print the image on.  If you would like to color your image with alcohol ink markers (Copic/Spectrum Noir, etc) or colored pencils (Prismacolor, etc) you will want to use a good carstock like Neenah Solar White or Strathmore Bristol smooth.

Where can I get digital stamps?

Many stamp companies are now offering digital alternatives to traditional/regular stamps.  Along with RG Avenue, I highly recommend you check out Di's Digi Stamps or Power Poppy.  Their images are simply stunning!  The style of digital stamps can vary greatly. There are simple, almost cartoon-like images that are the easiest to design and color in. That doesn’t mean, however, that digital stamps can’t have more quality. Details such as lines on an animal to indicate fur are brilliant – as a crafter, you will color over it like normal, but the design will have more depth and a designer quality.

FREE digital stamps:

A simple Google search will yield many results for "FREE digital stamps!"  I've provided a few links below for you to access courtesy of Papercraft UK magazine.  You can click on the link and then download these FREE digital stamps.  Try them and see if YOU like digital stamping!

Create Your Own Digital Stamp(s)!

If you are interested, really creative, and have a bit of artistic flair, you could make your own digital stamps! If you are good at drawing, all you need to do is sketch out a design in pencil that you can imagine someone coloring. Once you’ve done that and are happy with the design, simply go over the drawing with a black felt or fineline pen and scan it into your computer. Save it as a file and ta-da – you’ve created a digital stamp! If you’re savvy with a computer, you can then manipulate your drawing to make it crisp and perfect – and also alter the file type to offer crafters more possibilities. Share them on a craft blog or simple with your fellow creatives.  Open an Etsy store and sell your designs like Magengo!

Now I will share the two cards I created for today using digital files from RG Avenue:

The purple arrows in the image below shows the two stamps I used to create the card you see (above).  I printed out the entire sheet of flowers and colored the images with my Copic markers.  I ran the sheet back through my Scan & Cut to cut the flowers out.  *Note: If you don't have an e-cutting machine, yes, you could fussy cut the images out yourself.  Then I proceeded to finish the card as I normally would by adding cardstock, a sentiment stamp, some plaid paper and rhinestones.

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For the second card, I used a digital stamp set from RG Avenue called "Fall Vibes:"

I hope this post has helped to answer some of the questions you might have about digital stamping. I'm still a beginner myself, but I'm happy to try and help if you have any additional questions.

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

XO, Crystal