Digi stamps....any suggestions?
I have tried several times at using digi stamps and well, my results haven't been all the great...to me. I have been really resistant to the digi stamps as I just love to hold a stamp in my hand...and will probably continue to be that way BUT there are more and more companies going to all digi...which makes me sad...but anyhoo, does anyone have any suggestions on using digi stamps?
My ink usually smears no matter what coloring medium I use. I did have better results with images with larger open areas and images I let sit overnight.
I'm not totally thrilled with digi but figure I should at least make myself knowledgeable on them.
So...any tips or advice on digi stamps??
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42 comments:
I think it can depend on the printer ink. I've not had any problems thankfully, sorry I'm not much help! I hope you can figure out something, it is sad that some companies are going totally digi. I like rubber too :D
I have smearing problems too but a biggest problem is resizing to be able to use them on cards. I get them goofed up and I get frustrated.
I use a a middle of the road printer but i always make sure the paper or card is good quality and i always leave it half hour after printing to colour. Touch wood my copics havent smeared any yet!
love tasha xx
Hi Danni,
I love digi stamps!!
I use Promarkers on mine and have no running. I have an inkjet printer and use smooth white card. Have you tried spraying them with hairspray? When I watercoloured, I would print, spray and leave them overnight. They still ran but not as much.
Some people have said if you heat emboss the image as soon as it's out the printer, it won't run. I've never tried that though!
I hope you find something that works!
Hi Danni! I have had the problem with the ink smearing when I colored! The only way I got it not to smear was to spray the image with Krylon Workable Fixatif (Hobby Lobby $4.47)and let it dry for a couple of mins.Hope this helps!!!
Hugs,Connie
I like companies that offer both rubber and digital like katie at pms does. I usually if i am not sure on a image will get it in digital and then if i am printing it often enough will go with the rubber option. I always print my own on walmart georgia pacific and then let sit for a while. I have an older hp photosmart. I use copics just fine with the printer. Maybe try printing at someones else house and see if just your printer and ink.
Hi Danni. I'm the same as you. I've just started using digi's since Stamps and Smiles came out with them. I print them and then let them sit till the next day and I've only colored mine with my lyra's and OMS and I've had no trouble at all. As for the sizing, so far I've lucked out. I size it on my pc before I print it.
Hi Danni, I've just started colouring digi images with Promarkers and haven't had any problems at all. I do tend to print off several at once by dropping them into a Word document having adjusted the size first if necessary. I then let them dry an hour or so before using and they're fine.
Hope you get yours sorted out.
Fliss x
I have an HP Officejet printer and just print on the normal setting but use high quality cardstock to print on. I will say that it works best on cardstock with a matte finish.
You might want to check out some of the digi stamp websites. I have found a few that post suggestions on printing and coloring the images.
Danni, all I do with mine is just a regular ink jet printer. MAKE SURE YOUR INK IS DRY before you do anything...but I always tell people for BEST results, HEAT SET your image to help the drying process and try it that way!! Hope that helps!! :) I do love the rubber stamps, but those digis can be fun too!! HUGS
Just a quick suggestion, try changing your printing settings so it thinks you are printing on photo paper or coated paper. This is what I do and I can use markers or watercolour on it after about 2 minutes :)
xxx
Great suggestions! I like digi's because they don't take up any space. I use my HP Officejet and print on Georgial Pacific cardstock from Walmart. So far I've only had a few problems. Overall it works great. I agree that you should check out a friends printer and see if that's contributing to the problem. Tons of great adive though!
I found the following question and answer on Whimsie Doodles Digi Stamps
http://www.whimsiedoodles.com/index.html
My ink is smearing! What can I do?
It's easy to prevent your ink from smearing and use your favorite coloring techniques. To keep ink in place, you can heat seal the image with your heat gun or hair dryer!
Hi Danni,
I don´t have access to craft shops etc to buy special card and find a fine spray of hair lacquer over image sets the ink no probs.
Hugs,
Nicola -x-
I don't have problems with my printer but if I'm watercoloring a stamped image that's not Staz-On I do one of two things: heat set it with my heating tool or spray it with hair spray and don't have problems.
Also, I cut my paper in 4 inch strips (water color paper is 12") and I have a wp document set to that size. That really works for me because I know that the image is a little under 4" when imported and can then it makes it easier to resize.
It looks like you've gotten a lot of suggestions. I hope you can figure it out.
Blessings,
Christine
I found that setting my printer to print "black and white" only helps. I think if you let it dry over time, it should be okay. I still have to do that with my stamped images. :)
I do love rubber though, so I only do digis if I absolutely have to.
I have an epson printer and use a cheaper, but still good quality ink and always onto the same card I would use for stamping - Bristol Board. As long as I'm careful and don't saturate the image with my alcohol marker ink it's ok - but too much blending can make the printer ink run even when left overnight or for several days. I still prefer my rubba or clear stamps, but with so many lovely digi images now available I had to give it a go! I hope you get it sorted and can pass on any tips.
hugs, annie x
Hey Danni ~ I dragged my feet with the digi stamp thing and am now HOOKED. I love that I can buy the image for a fraction of the cost and resize it to fit any project. The downside is there are lots of techniques you can't do, but I still like them. I haven't had a problem with smearing. I print my images on my regular cs (usually Neenah) through a laser printer. I color mostly with COPICS. The only problem I have it I tend to 'seep' outside the lines more than when I stamp. I'm not sure if that's because I'm a sloppy color-er or if the 'real' stamped image actually gives a tiny barrier the printer does not.
Don't give up on digis. It's taken me more than a few cards to be excited about them.
I'm with some of the others, it's probably your printer/ink. I have a cheap canon printer and it works great with copics, I don't even have to wait for the ink to dry, I can color right away. The "only" draw back, is it does use more ink than other printers, but there's always pros and cons to these things! :) Oh and I had an HP Printer before too, that worked great, but they didn't make the brand I liked anymore, so went with this Canon I got. I LOVE digis, just for the fact you get a perfect image everytime and you can resize them. :) Ok, didn't mean to write a book! lol
I love digis, but was getting frustrated for the same reason. I tried heat setting the image and it still didn't work. I now spray my images with Krylon fixative before I color them. Now my ink doesn't run all over.
I quickly scanned the comments. I have digi stamps but I only have colored on so far with Prisma Pencils. I haven't tried with Copic's. I have read a lot on blogs that it most likely has to do with what type of printer you have, specifically what kind of ink it uses. I have read about setting it with the heat gun, suppose to help. Good Luck
I have an HP printer and I have the same trouble with ink smearing even after heat setting the ink or waiting over night if I'm water coloring. But I have no problems with smearing when I color using my PrismaColor Pencils blended w/ baby oil.
It's a matter of finding out what paper will work best with your printer & coloring medium... LIke many people I find the cheap GP/Walmart paper without the smooth finish is the best. I cannot do digi on my SU white as it smears with my SU markers. My old printer didn't stay wet enough to do the embossing trick that some are able to do so that's trial and error too. I had a Canon Pixma and it was great for coloring with SU markers/watercoloring...but I ahven't don't much with my new HP yet.
Sigh..I know there is so much controversy about digi. I love them but almost feel guilty sometimes using them. I have an inkjet printer and I always resize in Photoshop. I print out and let sit for 2-3 days. That way it does not smear. I find the better quality paper you use the better chance of not smearing. I use Paptertrey Inc. I have also read where you can heat set it. Then someone else told me to put it on Transparency when I print it. However mine printed backwards. So those are some of my tips.
P.S. I tried to leave a comment on several cards this a.m. and your comment moderator must have been turned off. Blogger hates me :)
Like a few others I also have an HP printer (photosmart to be exact). And I use paper like Georgia Pacific and let the images set overnight. I have heard of heat setting but haven't tried it. I think I might because I do notice I get smearing when I put glitter over my printed images. Otherwise coloring with Copics is no trouble.
Hope this helps!
-Stacie
hiya Danni
I have an epson, and as long as I leave the images for about 6 hours its fine. I did need some urgently the other night and used the hairdryer to set them, it wasnt perfect but it didnt bleed as much as I thought it would. I tend to print today and colour them tomoz with no smearing. I didnt get the digi stamp thing until this past week and I am hooked already! lol
Joey.xxx
Hiya Danni,
I use at least 160gram paper, and printer is set to save ink, so not so thick, and also try to leave them overnight if not two nights, if I have to use them in a hurry I heat set them with my air gun,I use a damp watercolour brush, and always have a bit of kitchen roll handy in case it does start to bleed,then just dab it.
Basically what everyone else has said so far, sorry for not being a help.
Hugs
Angie
I just switched to Paper Tray Ink cardstock and I don't have the bleeding issue anymore.
hi hun i have just started using digi stamps too and if you use 33gsm card stock its fine i always leave mine for about half an hour first but it you want to use them straight away use your heat gun,over the image,I have had no problems with mine using both methods hugs cheryl xxxxx
Danni,
I use a HP ink jet printer and always heat set my images with my heat gun. I hardly ever have a problem with smearing (only if I use shades of yellow...don't know why!). Hope this helps!
Hey Danni,
I hated digi when I first tried. I had major smearing problems too. I found that paper quality is definitely a big thing. I use either Neenah or PTI and I don't have the smearing issues anymore. I also print mine out and let them sit overnight usually. I seldom just print and go. I have heard heat setting is good but I haven't done that. I'm still not a huge digi fan but I'm a little more tolerant now that all of my stuff isn't smearing.
great question, thanks for getting it out there as I had the same questions...I too found that some sites are going only digi and I love their images. Thanks everyone for ideas...I will give them a try.
I still love the feel of a stamp in my hand too, Danni...trust me..it was hard to get used to the Digis...but the cool thing about them is that you can size them, layer them...so many options!
Here's what I do and it works fabulous...When you go in to PRINT, select PROPERTIES, choose MY CHOICE, then select TRANSPARENT. When your image prints..it's Copic Ready!!! No smearing or anything! Let me know if it works for you!
Hugs,
Lisa
Enjoyed reading all those suggestions you have gotten. I have only done a few of them, but I have used Neenah and GP white with no problems!
I love them. I find it depends on the paper you use. If you send me your address, I will send you some paper that I have found that works great. I use watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color my images. I find it is best not to get too close to the lines of the images.
anitamocha@charter.net
Have you tried heat embossing your images after you print them? I haven't had any problems with my HP printer ink, even with Copics. Next time I'll get a printer that will take heavier cardstock like PTI white, though!
I love rubber and I don't imagine that will ever change - however some of the stamps that I want are not available in rubber. TGF Fairies and Prairie Fairy for example. The great thing about digis is that you don't have to wait for mail and that I print a number of them on regular paper for my daughter who is three and I printed on good quality paper for myself. I also use an Epson printer but with replacement ink tanks from Island Inkjet - more environmentally friendly than the Epson. I heat set the ink before using copics but don't heat set for coloured pencils. I do miss embossing and masking and colouring directly on the rubber with the digis - sometimes you just need rubber!
Must admit Danni I don't really like digi stamps but when I have used them I print with an HP printer and colour with Copics and I find that if I leave the image for about 30mins the ink doesn't smudge. My friend uses a spray to set the ink and then colours with Prismas and white spirit and has found this works ok as well.
I hope you manage to find a solution. Have a good weekend.
Andrea
I really like digital stamps...I had a problem before with my inkjet..but then invested in a lazer..They are not as expensive as you would think and you dont have to fill nearly as often as a inkjet...The only downfall to lazer is if you print off pictures they are not as nice that is for sure.but i got to walmart to print my pictures cheap cheap.I like digital stamps cuz I can make them do what I want instead of me having to make my project to the stamp..
Useful to read all the comments. I resize in Word and fill a page with digis at a time. I leave my images overnight and they don't smear. If I'm in a rush then I wave the heat gun at them - without scorching the paper LOL!
oh sorry to hear you have had problems with the digis, i've been using digis for almost a year now and haven't had any problems.
I due think it has to do with printer inks at times, if its an inkjet you can also try heat setting it and it should try quicker. resizing I use WORD and simply resize it through there.
hope all the tips have helped and you can try again ;)
I've heard you can heat emboss images if the paper is still warm from the printer. It's not something I can try as I have a small black laser from HP, so the ink is already dry when it comes out. It's probably going to be a process of trial and error to find what paper works best with your printer
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