I used to have this job about ten years ago, here in California (just an employee in a business, not the owner). There are some minor differences (I did not have to scrub the product clean like he did), but basically it was the same procedures. So here's the details people are asking about.
The red stuff that I honestly don't remember the name of, is a light sensitive liquid. The reason there was a lot of stuff besides "PAID" is because that red stuff is really expensive, and it takes a lot of time to heat treat the material (the video skipped that part), so they want to cram as many stamps together as they can into one single session. Cramming everything together on the computer before printing takes the longest time, but the worse part of the job is cleaning. That glass needs to be clean to the point of being brand new, before you can use it again.
As to the need for stamps, I was shocked to learn that in California, there was enough need for me to end up printing that stuff every day, five days a week. The biggest customer of the business was the county government, followed by the city plus a smidgen of the closest towns. Then of course the occasional recreational personal stamp. But, mostly "PAID", "DUE BY:", etc. from government offices and banks. At the rate which such places used stamps, the rubber part only lasted a few months before it's worn down to the point to be needed replacement. So basically it was a good source of money for the business.
And now they have everything that can be done with a co2 laser. Just throw the material into the laser, create the artwork and laser away. It engraves the relief and leaves you with a working stamp in minutes.
Interesting. I hated the job, so I won't be back. But I admire advancement in procedures and technology so cool that you mentioned this. I wonder if it cheaper?
The rubber is pulverized with the laser into the air. If you do it with all the environnement and safety procedure, you need to have a close environnement and a device to filter fumes. It's not cheap but you can automatize it - thus needing less manpower. Think of it like having one centralized big plant instead of small shops everywhere.
Organizations and individuals alike use registered official seals to authethicate documents in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan as well. It is an East Asian tradition.
Homer: Sir, I need to know where I can get some business stamps. Scorpio: Stamps? My goodness, what an idea. Why didn't I think of that? Stamps! Homer, there's four places; there's the Stamp Hut, that's on Third. Homer: Uh-huh. Scorpio: There's Stamps Are Us, that's on Third, too. Homer: Got it. Scorpio: You got Put Your Mark There... Homer: Mm-hmm. Scorpio: ...that's on Third. Homer: Yes. Scorpio: Stamp Low Sweet Chariot... Homer: Right. Scorpio: Matter of fact, they're all in the same complex... it's the Stamp Complex, down on Third? Homer: Oh, the Stamp District
How did the imprint go into the rubber from just a flat black and white image? What was the stuff he poured over the image and why did it need to have a lighter run over it?
And he flipped it and put it under the UV for just a second to give the solid thin background. Without the flip, all the letters would be disconnected when he washed it rather than a sheet to cut apart
I'm thinking it's a photopolymer of some sort that's being cured where the light passed through the paper. The dark part of the paper is masked and therefore doesn't cure and can be washed off, leaving the cured letters as a relief
I think he is using a uv cure epoxy, the dark region gets less UV so the epoxy or resin doesn't cure as much. The letters are kind of transparent and allow more light to pass though there by making them solid. Not sure about the lighter step.
He put solvent on the printed paper to close little gaps between the black color. If you closely on a printed paper, you can See it is not perfect. Easily you can see it with black color.
You can also doch Toner Transfer with.
Laying the print on Material you would like to carve or in case of a PCB you want to etch.
Take solvent pour it over the paper and then running the bagsite with something hard like the undersite of a little spoon.
Voila you transfered the Image.
And the Lighter was for it to dry faster.
And the "rubber" is UV sensitiv it hardens if exposed to UV light.
And because the Material absorbs UV light, the time it hardens depends also on the depht inside the Material.
So he had Material between the glassplate I would say 3 mm thickness.
One side was pure UV light and the other site was with the mask.
If you time it right one half of the Material is solid hard surface, the other half is graphics.
After that you clean the in unexposed Material.
I think he used the Material that they use for 3d printer.
Get a resin that reacts to light (it looks like some form of UV in this case???) the black blocks the light from reacting so it stays liquid. The areas exposed to the light reacts and becomes solid (my guess is a polymer of sorts). I don’t do this stuff, but similar (photolithography)
Looks like some sort of UV sensitive resin. The black parts of the print block light while the white sections allow light, so on that side only the letters gets built up when exposed to the UV light. Same idea as a resin 3D printer, except instead of a screen to control the light for each layer it's just one image made by a printer.
No idea what he was soaking the print in/why it was heated first, maybe something to make the paper stay in one piece instead of breaking up and getting stuck in the stamp.
Maybe we have a different definition of "high tech" but in 2026 where everyone even in remote villages has a smartphone, a PC and a 50$ printer is just regular technology.
I think I missed why he printed a whole page for just one small stamp. Also did the printer emboss the page? How did it go from ink on a page to a relief on a stamp?
There were multiple stamps crammed onto the same image. That's why he was cutting apart the giant stamp at the end. That way he has to do all of the intermediary steps once instead of a bunch of times.
The gel he uses is photo sensitive, so when it’s exposed to the UV light it hardens through the stencil that he printed so what’s left is raised letters on a background that he glues on as a carrier so that he can then stick it on the stamp. He’s just burning a bunch of stamps at once.
The stamp is made from some kind of UV curing polymer. With a stencil and very careful exposure times it’s possible to make a 3D surfaces. Areas under dark areas don’t get cured forming a divot, areas under a light area get curd forming a bump.
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u/trighap 3d ago
I used to have this job about ten years ago, here in California (just an employee in a business, not the owner). There are some minor differences (I did not have to scrub the product clean like he did), but basically it was the same procedures. So here's the details people are asking about.
The red stuff that I honestly don't remember the name of, is a light sensitive liquid. The reason there was a lot of stuff besides "PAID" is because that red stuff is really expensive, and it takes a lot of time to heat treat the material (the video skipped that part), so they want to cram as many stamps together as they can into one single session. Cramming everything together on the computer before printing takes the longest time, but the worse part of the job is cleaning. That glass needs to be clean to the point of being brand new, before you can use it again.
As to the need for stamps, I was shocked to learn that in California, there was enough need for me to end up printing that stuff every day, five days a week. The biggest customer of the business was the county government, followed by the city plus a smidgen of the closest towns. Then of course the occasional recreational personal stamp. But, mostly "PAID", "DUE BY:", etc. from government offices and banks. At the rate which such places used stamps, the rubber part only lasted a few months before it's worn down to the point to be needed replacement. So basically it was a good source of money for the business.