Testing of New Pouches

I spent most of the day yesterday testing some polymer pouches that I received from a manufacturer.

The first pouch I tested was a true clear pouch. These pouches are much thicker than the Stampcritter pouches. This is good because one of the biggest problems I have with the Stampcritter pouches is getting the liquid dispersed evenly in the pouch. If you don't, you will have an image with a good impression on one side and a faint impression on the other. For instance the Bambi stamp I made had a very good impression except for around his tail. I had to ink that part very carefully.

I gave four tries on the clear pouch but didn't achieve a good impression. I need to test the different times some more. Some good things about this pouch (if I can get the exposure times figured out) is that they are a quite a bit cheaper than others out there if you buy in quantities of 20 or more. Also, they truely stick to the acrylic blocks without adding any adhesive. These pouches are also available in 4 sizes. The two largest sizes are too big to fit on the stampcritter exposure plates, but the two smaller pouches would be great. They are 1/8 sheet (2 15/16 x 4 1/8) and 1/4 sheet (4 1/8 x 5 7/8). I used the same process as I did with the Stampcritter pouches but I adjusted the times.

I'm hoping to get some more of these pouches and do some more testing. If I figure out the testing times, then I will post more info on the manufacturer. I don't want anyone buying them and getting upset with me if they don't work. So I would rather wait until I have had good results with these pouches.

I also tried some "red" pouches from this same company. I made 2 attempts and I did get a good impression on part of the stamp. I had the same problem with these pouches as I did with the Stampcritter pouches, getting the liquid dispersed evenly. I did finally receive the spacers that Stampcritter forgot to send me, but they don't help at all because they are too thick for the red pouches and for their own pouches.

The red pouches are also cheaper than anything else I have seen and I used the exact same process and times as I do with the pouches from Stampcritter. They also do not stick to the acrylic blocks with out an adhesive of some sort.

My husband came home after I had already used up all the red and clear pouches. So he helped me to do a stamp with the Stampcritter pouches. He put my "sandwhich" together for me and did a great job. I got two pretty good sized stamps out of the pouch with very little waste. I will take some pictures of my stamps and cards I made with it and post it later when my grandson leaves. For now I have to go and watch Barney.

I will keep you updated when I do more testing on the pouches.