Custom Stamp Graphics How-To



Perhaps the image you really want is not available from a regular rubber stamp supplier.  Maybe you want to send Christmas or other holiday cards to a country that is neither English nor French, but you would like the sentiments in that language.  Custom stamps are a reasonably priced solution to this problem without worrying about shipping costs or slow mail from countries on the other side of the world. 

The first thing you will need to create your own graphics for a custom stamp is a photo editor of some description.  I use Photoshop Elements 8.0 (PSE ) currently and it works wonderfully for me.  The downside is that if you don't spend a lot of time editing photos, the cost of this program can be prohibitive.  My first set of instructions will be for PSE.  It works using the concept of layers and any photo editing software that uses layers will follow a similar set of instructions.  There are also free photo editors available online.  One I downloaded and found easy to use and effective, was Paint.net.  Carefully read the instructions you get on the page to make sure you download Paint.net and not some other program.

The next thing you will want to do is collect some fonts that appeal to you.  If you are like me you already have a collection of hundreds of fonts and need look no further.  Ah, who's kidding who, you can always use another font.  There are great trustworthy font sites out there.  Dafont.com is a favourite of mine, but there are many more.  There are also places where you can buy fonts at reasonable prices, like Lettering Delights.  Just be careful if you are going to use the stamps you make for cards you will sell.  Be sure to know the conditions of sale or download.

Photoshop Elements 8.0

Step 1:   The first thing you need to do is open a new blank file.

Choose a US paper format.  Here it is up to you.  Choose an 8.5 x 11 format or if you typically make say a 5 x 7 card, choose that size as you will readily see how your stamp will work on the card front.



The most important part about this step is choosing the 300 pixels per inch as the resolution.  It needs to be this high in order to print out at 300 dpi.  This is needed for the stamp production process.


 In order to create the stamp at the size you want it, it helps to turn on both the ruler and the grid.  Both these options are found under the view tab and are on when there is a check next to the choice.





Step 2:  To type choose the Type tool.  This tool can either create horizontal filled text or it can create vertical text and either can be chosen as outlines only.  To find the other options you need to click on the tiny black triangle at the bottom right corner of that tool's icon.




Now we are getting to the fun parts.  Choose your font.  Languages using alphabets other than Latin can also be used.  Look for fonts in these languages or use the special character function. 

Fonts are easy to change if you don't like what you see.  Make sure your text's layer is active, using the text tool, highlight your text and choose another font.  The same method can be used to adjust the size and colour of your text.




 Which brings me to the question of colour.  To create artwork for a custom stamp it should print out black, so choose black as your text colour.  Grey scale is also possible if you are looking for shaded effects, but we won't get into that here.





Highlighting the text with the text tool active allows you to change size, font and colour.



 In this shot you can see the layers.  The blackened layer is active and the eyes let you know that the layer is visible in the main window.

  Step 3:  Now after you have added all your text, you will notice that each time you add new text that a new layer has been created.  This is how you want to set the text up.  For each change of font, create a new layer, that is click the text tool to get a new starting point and type the next word or phrase.  Don't worry about placement as you are typing.  Just look for relative sizes and fonts that compliment each other.  Then once you are satisfied with the general appearance, it is time for your final arrangement.  Switch the tool to the selection or arrow tool and move each bit of text around until you are happy with the final arrangement.  You will notice that if you want you can even overlap text.  You can also add bits of graphics or Dingbat fonts to customize your graphics.



Once you are happy with the arrangement, it is time to flatten your layers.  This locks your elements together and prevents an accidental change.  Flattening also allows you to size the final graphic as a whole, maintaining the relative sizes.  In order to flatten, click the eye on the background layer so that it does not show.  Now under the layer menu, select merge visible.  You'll see that in the picture above, all my layers show.  I did flatten at this point and ended up with graphic, whose size I couldn't change.  If you make this mistake just hit the backwards arrow under the edit menu.  You can keep clicking it til you get back to before your mistake.  Life could use a back arrow.


Now that your typed elements are locked together, you can size it using your grid so that it will be the size you want.  If you grab a corner with the arrow tool, the proportions will hold as you size the selection box.


I like to turn off the grid before my final save in order to have a good look at my finished product.



Save the file as a JPEG or a PDF.  Either works for creating the stamp.  Click OK on subsequent boxes and now you have a file ready to be sent to a rubber stamp maker.

Here in Toronto, Bizzy B's can make your stamps for you.  Send an email with your graphic file attached to info@bizzyb.ca and they will help you out. 

Have fun with your new custom stamps and create cards that your relatives and friends will treasure.

Last note: I apologize for any mutilation of the Polish Christmas greeting.  Having a smidge of knowledge about the language you are using is helpful.  I'll add a Paint.net how-to in a couple of days, but except for a few minor differences it works exactly the same.