How to Print and Color Digital Stamps

In the last article, we discussed exactly what Digital Stamp images were. Now we are going to discuss how to print and color these digital images.

Before you begin printing your images you will want to give some thought to what type of paper you want to print to get the most satisfactory finished product. Remember some papers do not print well and leave ink wet or damp which will only serve to make a mess of your image causing you frustration.

As with any stamping you cannot go wrong using your Best cardstock For Coloring. Use a nice thick cardstock of bright white colour which will handle markers, especially alcohol-based markers without bleeding or smearing. However, that is not to say that you cannot use a lesser paper to save cost. Just make sure that the paper has a paper weight of at least 80 lbs, anything lower will not give you the results you desire. This will also allow you to get a nice crisp scoring line without folding creases.

If using a lighter paper you may want to set your printed image before coloring. Setting your image can be achieved in two ways: by heat setting or by embossing.

Let's start with Heat Setting. Once you've printed your image use your heat gun or if you do not have one a hair dryer will work as well, turn it on and hold it 6 to 8 inches from the image. Remember to rotate your image as you dry your print for approximately 15 - 25 seconds. NB, do not hold your heater too close to the paper or you will scorch or burn the paper. While we have never used this method on water colors it dose work well with markers.

Now lets try the other alternative Embossing which is a favourite of a lot of people, and is the simplest method in my opinion, to stop the ink from running or smearing when coloured. To start use your glue and apply it to whatever part of the image you wish to emboss. I personally like to use a glue pen as it allows me to get into small areas and works great with fine detail, but you can use whatever you feel most comfortable with. The embossing pen I use goes on blue and dries to a clear finish thus allowing me to know that the glue is still wet when I sprinkle the embossing powder on the image. Working fairly quickly, before the glue dries, sprinkle any clear embossing powder over your glued areas. Next use your heat gun set the embossing powder in the usual manner (which only takes a few seconds), then let your image cool before starting to colour as normal.

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