Whats the Best Type of Stamp for Papercrafting

Lots of my customers ask me - Which is Best - Wood Clear or Photopolymer Stamps ?

As with most things, its often a matter of personal taste and inevitably we end up with a variety of types because we love the image! However, I thought I share with you the pros and cons of each to help you make up your mind.

First of all, what are the three types?

Well, Wood Mount stamps are made from rubber and mounted onto wooden blocks.

Clear Mount stamps are also made from rubber but instead of being permanently mounted to a wooden block, they temporarily adhere or cling to clear blocks instead.

Photopolymer stamps also cling like clear-mount stamps, but are made from a different material entirely and are transparent, like these:

So, now for the Pros and Cons
Wood Mount Stamps

Pros:
•They feel lovely and solid in your hand
•You dont have to purchase the block separately
•Because theyre attached to the block, theyre always ready to go!

Cons:
•They are bulky to store
•You cant see where youre stamping. (This can be helped by using a Stamp-a-ma-jig when precise placement is needed)
•They are usually more expensive than the other two types.

Clear Mount Stamps

Pros:
•They take up less storage space
•Its easier to see where youre stamping
•You can combine images on a single block
•Theyre usually less expensive than wood-mount

Cons:
•You have to purchase the blocks separately - although you only need to purchase them once
•They can sometimes have problems adhering to the blocks.
•You still cant see precisely where youre stamping

Photopolymer Stamps

Pros
•You can see EXACTLY where youre stamping as the entire image is transparent
•You can do double or triple stamping by layering images on top of one another
•You can combine images on a single block
•The stamps are flexible so you can bend some images
•They take up less storage space than Wood Mount
•Theyre usually the least expensive

Cons:
•Because theyre clear, its easy to lose them on your messy crafting table!
•The material is softer than traditional rubber so you need to use less pressure
•Lots of photopolymer stamps are of inferior quality - giving problems such as beading and blurred images. I can safely say that you will not have these problems with Stampin Up! photopolymer stamps! They are made to give exactly the same results as traditional rubber stamps.

Personally, I would go photopolymer all the way if I could! However, the most important thing is to love the image...

The great news is that lots of Stampin Up! stamp sets come in all three options. And youll get to use all of then at my regular classes and events. So you decide - which is your favourite - Wood Clear or Photopolymer Stamps ?