I’ve gotten sick of professionally printed high-gloss business cards. Everybody has them and they start looking generic and over-produced. They’re especially inappropriate for a little Etsy shop like Milk Box Prints. I wanted something that was handmade but held on to my crisp and clean design style, like a stamp! In the past I’ve tried hand-cutting my own rubber stamps, but I needed something with better detail than I could manage by hand. I opted for professionally made rubber stamps inked onto kraft chip board.

If this technique interests you, here are some tips and resources for designing your own custom stamp. Feel free to comment if you have questions.

Where to get a custom stamp made:

Simon’s Stamps is the easiest and cheapest I’ve found. Choose your size and style of stamp, upload artwork, and you’re done!

Where to find blank kraft cards:

Kraft Outlet sells a few different styles in batches of 50 for $5-$6.

Tips on designing your custom stamp:

• Draw and scan a design, or create it right in Illustrator like I did. Either way, make sure the end result is black and white with no greyscale.
• Text should be 8pt or larger
• Export/save artwork at a high resolution for best results (I saved at 600dpi to be extra safe).
• Print out your design first so you know exactly how it will look on a business card

It only takes a couple minutes to stamp a whole pile of business cards, and it feels so much more rewarding than opening a box of cards from the printer. Try different stamp pads to find one that give you the look you want (some, like Avery Carter’s, spread a lot, blurring fine details and small text). I found the one I like best in the clearance section at Office Max, but StazOn also works well.

The card on the left uses Avery Carter's ink pad and small text blurs together. The one on right uses Office Max brand ink pad and prints much crisper lines.

Avery Carter's ink was used on the stamp on the right (notice how the ink pools in the crevices).