Liquid Polymer Stamp Making

The low cost business startup with real profit potential!

Rarely nowadays can you stumble over a home based business that is simple, fun and rewarding, yet has plenty of opportunity to enter a growing market place without serious and potentially costly barriers to entry!

The market for rubber stamps, particularly people involved in crafts is growing at an amazing rate, and much of the demand for craft stamps comes in the form of bespoke designs that may be unique to one person, or a small group of crafter's. With this in mind, the equipment and consumables offered by Dalesway is perfectly suited to a small, or even home based business that supplies crafter's with inexpensive, quick turnaround rubber stamps.

The demand for business stamps remains strong and this is another facet of the business that can help to make even more money for you. Just think how many local businesses use rubber stamps, and for some of these companies, there is a need to change the stamps on a regular basis!

Rubber stamps are used by businesses, schools, universities, homes and crafter's all over the country, and with a liquid polymer resin system from Dalesway, these stamps are inexpensive to produce, versatile in design and can be made in quantities as few as one unit if required!

Many local stationery suppliers offer rubber stamps, but generally, as they do not produce the stamps in-house, lead time, inability to offer a design service for a client, and cost make these outlets easy targets for your business. Simply by telling local companies about your business and the services that you provide, a regular and growing income stream is there to be taken. And unless your competitors decide to invest in the hardware to produce stamps in-house, they can nothing to stop your new venture from becoming ever more successful!


How much does it cost to produce an A4 sheet of stamps?

We estimate that it will cost around £7.50 to produce an A4 sheet of liquid polymer stamps. This figure excludes labour which you will need to quantify. An A4 sheet represents an area of around 600 square centimetres, so if you were to produce 48 stamps each 5 x 2.5cm and sold them at £8.95 each, this would yield a sales revenue of £430. From this revenue, you would have spent £7.50 on consumables and around £40 on stamp mounts, leaving you with a profit of £380.


How long does it take to produce a stamp?

It will take around 20 - 25 minutes to produce an A4 sheet of stamps. This time assumes that you are have already produced printed artwork from which a negative must be made. After making the stamps, you will need to fix them to stamp mounts which realistically should take less than a minute per design.


How is a stamp made?

The process begins with a design on a PC or Mac that is printed using a laser printer. From this artwork, which we call a film positive, we need to produce a film negative. This is done using special film, UV light and chemicals that process the film. Once the negative has been made, we use a special glass assembly that comprises two sheets of glass with a 3mm gap between the layers. The negative is placed on the glass and liquid resin is poured over the negative, but retained inside a reservoir that is built using compressible foam strips. The top sheet of glass is clamped in position over the liquid resin and this sets the height of the stamp. The liquid resin is then exposed, washed, post exposed to fully harden the stamp, then dried and mounted.


Can I work from home?

Would you like to set your own hours and work at a pace that suits you? If so, then our liquid polymer stamp making system is just what you need. The equipment is compact allows you to work from the comfort of your home, or home office. With our system, you can setup your stamp maker on any table, desk, or counter - very little space is needed and the unit is not exceedingly heavy. Once the unit is in operation, you can walk away and do other things until the process has finished.

Clients that want to grow the business rapidly and already have the benefit of passing trade should consider adding our system to an existing operation such as a craft shop or stationery outlet. The ease of setup and use of the equipment, compact size and standard 13 Amp power requirements make incorporating the system very simple and highly cost effective.


Where do I get the consumbles from?

Dalesway can supply not only the hardware that is needed to start this lucrative small business, but also the consumables to produce liquid based polymer stamps. Our clients need to look no further for the materials, and in most cases, our consumable products can be used with hardware that has been suppplied by competitor companies. We believe that our attention to detail, product knowledge, after sales support and pricing are second to none!

We are please to supply liquid polymer resin (bottled and in sachets of various sizes), washout solution, laser film, cover film, backing sheets, negative film, developer and fixer, self inking stamp bodies, wooden stamp mounts and clear acrylic craft stamp mounts. If you need something that is not listed, just ask and we will do our best to help.


What additional equipment will I need?

In addition to the Xeros UV exposure unit and optional glass assembly system, you will need a means of producing artwork for the stamp design. This will be done on a PC or Apple Mac to which we recommend you use a mono laser printer. Inkjet printers can be used, but are often more difficult to get a dark, opaque print from on acetate. Sometimes it is necessary to change the ink when printing onto clear film.

Once you have sorted out the computer and printer, you will also need a design programme which can be used to scan or draw the artwork. This software can be as simple or complex as you feel comfortable with, but we recommend the use of either CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator. Both of these programmes can be purchased for PC or Mac and have more than enough clever features to produce stunning designs.


How quickly can I start making stamps?

You will be ready to start your new business venture immediately. Dalesway will supply you with everything you need, or only the consumables to run alongside your existing hardware if necessary. No previous experience is needed as everything is explained to you in our simple, clear and straightforward instructions. For clients that would like to be trained how to produce liquid polymer stamps, a short course is available when you collect your machine - with our help, even a novice can successfully begin producing stamps and whilst making money, have some fun at the same time!

You can start this exciting new business in your spare time, and setup the system on your work bench, kitchen table or desk top. The process is so simple and straightforward that you will be in business right from the start. In addition to supplying end users, you may also want to consider supplying local craft shops and stationery outlets with stamps - many of these businesses buy from a small number of large suppliers that simply cannot compete with you on lead times, and the cost effective production of one-off or bespoke designs.


What kind of stamps can I produce?

There are four main types stamp in general use today. The most common business stamp is a self inking unit that we supply ready for a design to be affixed to. The ink pad can be changed by the user if necessary and these pads are a consumable that you can sell. These stamps are very attractive to look at and work very easily.

The second type of stamp that you will produce is a hand stamp that is supplied with a clear perspex mounting base and wooden handle. When these stamps are sold, it is common that stamp pads are also required by the customer.

The third type of stamp has a wooden handle, normally unpainted, and is generally supplied to the craft market. Crafter's normally have ink pads that they use with their stamps so it will be rare to supply ink pads at the same time.

The fourth type of stamp has a clear acrylic base and is not fitted with a handle. These stamps are almost always supplied to crafter's who have a need to see where they are stamping a design onto the card. The design is often removed from the acrylic block when not is use and this allows the mount to be used for other designs. These types of stamp form the fastest growing part of the market place and are in high demand with the craft market. It is likely that this type of stamp will soon outsell traditional vulvanised rubber craft stamps!