Digital Stamp Help

Here's a bit of information to help familiarize you with digital stamps. Be sure to visit our Challenge Blog for more inspiration and tutorials from the Meljen's Design Team!

If you can't find your answer here, try the Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still need help, please contact me.

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What are digital stamps?

Digital stamps are like rubber stamps, but are are presented as a digital file that you can store on your computer. You can open them in a program like Microsoft Word, re-size them, rotate them, flip them and print them out as many times as you want! They are convenient because you don't have to clean them, they don't get worn out, and they are available instantly when you order them. No waiting for shipping. Also...easy storage! Just pop them into a file folder on your computer!

Help! My printer ink is smearing!

If you try coloring with a 'wet' medium on your printed out digital stamp and the printed ink starts bleeding into your colors, try printing out the design again and heat setting it. You can do this with a crafter's heat gun or your hair dryer. You can also let the printed paper sit out for a day or so and see if that helps set the ink.

Other setting methods include using an art setting spray like 'Fixatif' or even aerosol hair spray. Simply spray lightly over the entire image and let it try for a while before coloring.

Try different types of papers. Georgia Pacific cardstock has worked well for me and other crafters, and you can get it at almost any local store. An important note is that laser printers will work much better with 'wet' coloring methods than inkjet printers.

How do I print out the stamps?

Here's a tutorial that should help you out!

(Written by Rae Ann at our Challenge Blog - this tutorial also works similarly with Open Office)

"Fun With Digital Images"

One of the things I love the most about digital images is the fact that you can resize them to fit any project. I have used digital images as small as 1 inch and as large as 6 inches. You are only limited to the size of the paper that your printer will use!

When I first started using digital images, I tried to "eyeball" the size on my monitor screen. I quickly realized that wasn't really the best way to determine the size. I have a large monitor and my eye was fooled by the size of the picture on the monitor. It led to oversized cards, reprinting images, and general frustration.

I don't have a photo editing program, so I use Microsoft Word to print my images. I remembered I could easily size pictures using Word. I have Word 2007, but the process is basically the same for all versions.

Once you have inserted your picture into your Word Document, right click on the picture. A menu similar to this should pop up.

Select size from the pop up menu. A box will pop up.

You can now change the height or width to the actual size you want the image to be. You can either click in the box and delete the current measurement, or you can use the arrows to increase or decrease size. For most cards, I change the larger of the two measurements to 2.5 or 3 inches. You can make it as small or as large as you need it to be for your project!