Recently I was in Williamsburg, VA and visited Impression Obsession. I took a few pictures so you can see what it is like to produce red rubber stamps. Most stamp manufacturers press their own red rubber - a process which uses a machine called a vulcanizer. Steel plates are made of the designs and the rubber is pressed into the plates with heat and pressure - creating the red rubber stamps we all know and love. Clear stamps are produced by a different process and most stamp companies do not make their own clear stamps. All the red rubber stamps at I-O are made right there in Williamsburg - hand cut and either put on cling mount or mounted to wood blocks. Mitra Friant, the owner of Impression Obsession was gracious to let me poke around and see some of the new items that are releasing this summer. We can all look forward to her "mega-mount" acrylic mount for large stamps and the fabulous 6x6" square background images she created. This allows you to completely cover the front of an A-2 size card with one pass of the stamp. The mega-mount allows you to get a nice, even image. Hopefully these will be at Stamped Designs by the end of August.
