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Rubber Stamps / Geocache Passport


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Hey folks, what about this idea. Have custom rubber stamps in your cache...say your cache name or logo. Then have a a geocache passport...you take this from cache to cache stamping your passport.

 

You could also have your own stamp, leave a stamp in the cache log book as your signature.

 

Sort of a twist on letterboxing...we could even get office geocaching passports with the profits to help keep the site going.

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I think its a great idea. For me personally, I have always thought the concept of the stamps that letterboxing uses is really neat and would appeal to me more than trading for items of equal value. Kind of like trading and collecting art! If I came to a cache that had a stamp in it (and a notebook for me to place my stamp in) I would trade stamp impressions rather than trade items. (of course the cache could still have items in it for those who prefer the trinkets). (by the way -- I also like collecting impressions of official stamps in my real passport icon_smile.gif )

 

You may not agree with what I say, but I will defend, to your death, my right to say it!(it's a Joke, OK!)

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I think its a great idea. For me personally, I have always thought the concept of the stamps that letterboxing uses is really neat and would appeal to me more than trading for items of equal value. Kind of like trading and collecting art! If I came to a cache that had a stamp in it (and a notebook for me to place my stamp in) I would trade stamp impressions rather than trade items. (of course the cache could still have items in it for those who prefer the trinkets). (by the way -- I also like collecting impressions of official stamps in my real passport icon_smile.gif )

 

You may not agree with what I say, but I will defend, to your death, my right to say it!(it's a Joke, OK!)

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quote:
Originally posted by Schmidt-Family:

Hey folks, what about this idea. Have custom rubber stamps in your cache...say your cache name or logo. Then have a a geocache passport...you take this from cache to cache stamping your passport.

 

You could also have your own stamp, leave a stamp in the cache log book as your signature.

 

Sort of a twist on letterboxing...


Geat idea.

I have seen a log book entry that had a clear lable (return address type) with cachers logo in it, it looked great too.

 

Ether way sould make logging in the book quicker, if pressed for time.

 

how4.gif No matter where you go... There you are!

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There's two ways of doing this floating throughout this discussion. Everyone gets a book, and the caches have a self-inking stamp (or cachers carry ink with them). Everyone has a passport and fills their book with stamps. This is what letterboxing does.

 

The other way is more of the reverse, and I think it lends itself better to Geocaching. Individual cachers have an ink-stamper made up, and they can use it to sign the log book.

 

The first method of "stamps in a cache" would mean that we'd have to contact the owners of the 18000 active caches and have them get stamps made. icon_eek.gif

 

I think it makes much more sense for people to do this if they want to by having a stamp made and filling up the cache's log books.

 

Markwell

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There's two ways of doing this floating throughout this discussion. Everyone gets a book, and the caches have a self-inking stamp (or cachers carry ink with them). Everyone has a passport and fills their book with stamps. This is what letterboxing does.

 

The other way is more of the reverse, and I think it lends itself better to Geocaching. Individual cachers have an ink-stamper made up, and they can use it to sign the log book.

 

The first method of "stamps in a cache" would mean that we'd have to contact the owners of the 18000 active caches and have them get stamps made. icon_eek.gif

 

I think it makes much more sense for people to do this if they want to by having a stamp made and filling up the cache's log books.

 

Markwell

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I've been looking at having a stamp made for my first geocache.

 

Prices for custom line art stamps run about $35 for one.

 

Staples, office depot, and other retail outlets that provide stamps can do this in-house for Pre-Inked stamps. I don't believe that these will hold up any period of time for outdoor use. Typically they want black and white TIF files of the proper sise. They can also work with Windows black and white BMP files as well. They cannot use greyscale files. They can also digitize line art drawings on paper to try and make a stamp out of that. The thing to keep in mind that these retail outlets are mearly operators of the equipment and lack any technical skill with their machines.

 

They can do rubber stamps but they outsource them somewhere (usually local) since you have to wait 3 to 5 days.

 

Check your phone book yellow pages for stamp companies. I found three stamp makers in Springfield Massachusetts and they can do greyscale rubber stamps since they use a chemical process rather then digital cutting like the office super stores do. The quality of the job was far superior to the samples I saw at Staples and Office Depot for the same price.

 

What I haven't worked out yet is the proper size of the stamp. What will the cache visitors be expected to stamp ? How to handle dry ink pads ? Should the cache visitors be expected to provide their own stamp pad ?

 

It is a great idea to put a stamp in a cache but it brings up additional questions.

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quote:
Originally posted by DARC:

What will the cache visitors be expected to stamp ? How to handle dry ink pads ? Should the cache visitors be expected to provide their own stamp pad?


That's why I would go with the reverse suggestion. icon_wink.gif Let the cachers bring their stamps to the cache and stamp the log book.

 

If we had all started off doing the stamps in the caches like the letterboxes do, it would have been quite nifty. I don't want to be a nay-sayer, but I just don't think it would catch on now that 18000+ caches are already out there.

 

Markwell

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quote:
Originally posted by DARC:

What will the cache visitors be expected to stamp ? How to handle dry ink pads ? Should the cache visitors be expected to provide their own stamp pad?


That's why I would go with the reverse suggestion. icon_wink.gif Let the cachers bring their stamps to the cache and stamp the log book.

 

If we had all started off doing the stamps in the caches like the letterboxes do, it would have been quite nifty. I don't want to be a nay-sayer, but I just don't think it would catch on now that 18000+ caches are already out there.

 

Markwell

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quote:
Originally posted by DARC:

...What I haven't worked out yet is the proper size of the stamp.

 

...It is a great idea to put a stamp in a cache but it brings up additional questions.

 

Definitely check the yellow pages for makers of rubber stamps. Here in Eugene, OR we're lucky enough to have a local fellow - Craftsman Rubber Stamps - to take our artwork to. Sure he sends it out too and it's more than buying a stamp off the shelf but it's pretty cool when your artwork comes back as a rubber stamp. icon_smile.gif He also has the option of different handles on the stamps. You can go for the traditional low-profile stamp or one of those old-fashioned handles that can hang in the revolving stands. Drill a hole through it, put a chain on it and it can be attached to the cache. Hopefully stopping cachers from thinking it's a trade item!

 

Your stamp probably shouldn't be very large or it won't fit in the small notebooks that I've found in caches. Waterproof ink would also be advisable since it's not always clear skies when we cache!

 

quote:
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers (1879-1935)
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quote:
Originally posted by DARC:

...What I haven't worked out yet is the proper size of the stamp.

 

...It is a great idea to put a stamp in a cache but it brings up additional questions.

 

Definitely check the yellow pages for makers of rubber stamps. Here in Eugene, OR we're lucky enough to have a local fellow - Craftsman Rubber Stamps - to take our artwork to. Sure he sends it out too and it's more than buying a stamp off the shelf but it's pretty cool when your artwork comes back as a rubber stamp. icon_smile.gif He also has the option of different handles on the stamps. You can go for the traditional low-profile stamp or one of those old-fashioned handles that can hang in the revolving stands. Drill a hole through it, put a chain on it and it can be attached to the cache. Hopefully stopping cachers from thinking it's a trade item!

 

Your stamp probably shouldn't be very large or it won't fit in the small notebooks that I've found in caches. Waterproof ink would also be advisable since it's not always clear skies when we cache!

 

quote:
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers (1879-1935)
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Ordered my personal stamp from them & works out great. Just e-mail them a jpeg of the image you want & pick the stamp style you want from their selection. I got a round self-inking unit that works great. Prices were very reasonable too. I stamp the log book of every cache I conquer. icon_biggrin.gif

 

"Gimpy"

 

By the way, my avatar is the image I sent them. I got style 400R. 2" diameter & whole stamp is about 4" long. A bit bulky perhaps, but fits in the backpack no problem.

 

[This message was edited by Gimpy on May 25, 2002 at 05:08 AM.]

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Ordered my personal stamp from them & works out great. Just e-mail them a jpeg of the image you want & pick the stamp style you want from their selection. I got a round self-inking unit that works great. Prices were very reasonable too. I stamp the log book of every cache I conquer. icon_biggrin.gif

 

"Gimpy"

 

By the way, my avatar is the image I sent them. I got style 400R. 2" diameter & whole stamp is about 4" long. A bit bulky perhaps, but fits in the backpack no problem.

 

[This message was edited by Gimpy on May 25, 2002 at 05:08 AM.]

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quote:
Markwell wrote:

That's why I would go with the reverse suggestion. Let the cachers bring their stamps to the cache and stamp the log book.


Ok, you've convinced me. I'm going to have a Logbook stamp made.

 

Also, forgot to mention that most stamp shops and office superstores want their artwork TIF and BMP files in 300 dpi resolution.

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Thanks for the input.

 

Yes, this whole thought came from the Letterboxing site. I liked the concept of how letterboxing is done. Certainly this could go both ways....stamping books as you go and getting your book stamped as you find caches. I just like the concept of collecting something besides a trinket.

 

We thought about testing out a self inking stamp...place it the freezer...and leave it out side in a box during the summer heat for a while and see how it goes.

 

As for the stamp being stolen.....you could always attach it to the box in some fashion. Just like spiderlady56 suggested.

 

While I agree it would be difficult to get 19000 caches converted over....you need to start somewhere. Perhaps this could be another classification for a cache.

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Although it is a horrible scan, my avatar image is our stamp that we use when signing logs. A local shop was able to make it into a self-inking stamp that will stamp about 3000 times before running out of ink. Of course it's refillable. We provided them the image in .tiff format and they were able to make the stamps in about 3 hours. Total cost? Under $20 per stamp. Well worth it!

 

- Dekaner of Team KKF2A

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After my last posting, I put together a quick stamp image in CorelDraw9, exported it to TIF and BMP format in 300dpi sized for 2" x 3" (no reason for size, just an assumed estimate of what they could handle. Wrong naturally). Stuck both files on a floppy diskette and drove down to Staples.

 

Gave the girl behind the counter my floppy and she was able to read my images on her windows based machine. They appeared smaller then when I generated them and next time, I'd suggest creating them as 600dpi instead.

 

Since she could read the files, we picked out a stamp size and she suggested their largest 1.5 x 3.5 inch self inking stamp. I said sure. Turns out that the self-inking stamps are the only stamps that they can do in-house. They use a Brother label machine that creates images that etch into a blank stamp cartridge. The equipment seems like a glorified Brother Label Maker.

 

She resized the image to fit a 1.5" x3.5" stamp area and although this resulted in almost 30% wasted space on the sides, icon_frown.gif the aspect ratio was preserved. Next time I will design my image for their stamp size. She uses the Brother gear to make the label for the top of the stamp. It also works as a preliminary verification how your stamp will look.

 

I gave my aproval and she plugged a stamp base cartridge in the Brother machine and in less then a minute the stamp was etched. The completed stamp cartridge was placed between the the top handle and bottom cover, then *crushed* into place.

 

What the crushing does is to puncture an ink bladder and allows it to flow into the stamp. I was warned against keeping the stamp in a hot environment such as a car glove box. If the ink runs out, the stamp is snapped apart, two small hooks are released and and there is supposed to be a way if adding more ink. I couldn't find it while taking apart mine. Because the ink flows through micro porous holes in the stamp, I suspect it would be prone to clogging after extensive use on dusty log books and therefor not practical to re-ink.

 

I was in and out of Staples in 15 minutes with my new Logbook stamp and tried it out twice saturday. icon_cool.gif

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After my last posting, I put together a quick stamp image in CorelDraw9, exported it to TIF and BMP format in 300dpi sized for 2" x 3" (no reason for size, just an assumed estimate of what they could handle. Wrong naturally). Stuck both files on a floppy diskette and drove down to Staples.

 

Gave the girl behind the counter my floppy and she was able to read my images on her windows based machine. They appeared smaller then when I generated them and next time, I'd suggest creating them as 600dpi instead.

 

Since she could read the files, we picked out a stamp size and she suggested their largest 1.5 x 3.5 inch self inking stamp. I said sure. Turns out that the self-inking stamps are the only stamps that they can do in-house. They use a Brother label machine that creates images that etch into a blank stamp cartridge. The equipment seems like a glorified Brother Label Maker.

 

She resized the image to fit a 1.5" x3.5" stamp area and although this resulted in almost 30% wasted space on the sides, icon_frown.gif the aspect ratio was preserved. Next time I will design my image for their stamp size. She uses the Brother gear to make the label for the top of the stamp. It also works as a preliminary verification how your stamp will look.

 

I gave my aproval and she plugged a stamp base cartridge in the Brother machine and in less then a minute the stamp was etched. The completed stamp cartridge was placed between the the top handle and bottom cover, then *crushed* into place.

 

What the crushing does is to puncture an ink bladder and allows it to flow into the stamp. I was warned against keeping the stamp in a hot environment such as a car glove box. If the ink runs out, the stamp is snapped apart, two small hooks are released and and there is supposed to be a way if adding more ink. I couldn't find it while taking apart mine. Because the ink flows through micro porous holes in the stamp, I suspect it would be prone to clogging after extensive use on dusty log books and therefor not practical to re-ink.

 

I was in and out of Staples in 15 minutes with my new Logbook stamp and tried it out twice saturday. icon_cool.gif

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Where would I go to get my Avatar made into a stamp? I guess it would be easiest to stamp it one-color, unless I want to color each section each time I use it.

 

(I see above where to go, I was mostly testing my Avatar)

 

Half my life is spent explaining to Christians why I am a deadhead. The other half is spent explaining to deadheads why I am a Christian.

-Dru Morgan www.theheavenlyhost.com

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I work for a small company that makes pre-inkers. They suck. I'd be happy to sell the dadgum machine...

I had an old man as a Scout advisor that made stamps. Pretty easy for type, computers make graphics possible now. Still the ink and paper waterproof bit arises.

I'll stick with engraving tags for now. Still free (for me) and waterproof. Wish you all the best though.

CCC

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... carving your own stamps?!?

 

That's what I do. It's pretty easy and not very expensive. An eraser and an X-acto knife is all you need to get started.

 

I've started stamping an image next to my name in the log books, but I'm considering stamping that same image onto a blank business card and attaching that to the log book instead...

 

But really: try carving your own stamps. Tons of fun.

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quote:
Originally posted by The Heavenly Host:

I made a pretty good picture using this technique...

http://www.kurki15rs.com/photocarving.html

But, now the question is how to get the picture onto the eraser to carve it.

 

Everywhere that cache is found,

Bound to Cover Just a Little More Ground.

-Dru Morgan http://www.theheavenlyhost.com

 

OK... this is one way that you can transfer a picture to an eraser. An Uncle Walter's Carving Block is best for me. It's basically a big white eraser block. Run the picture through a copier (not color) and trim away all excess paper from around your design. Obviously the design will have to be sized already to fit the eraser. Lay the picture UPSIDE DOWN ON THE ERASER BLOCK and soak a cotton ball with fingernail polish remover . Gently press the cottonball to the paper and soak it thoroughly. Let the paper sit undisturbed for about 30 seconds and carefully lift a portion of the paper to check on the ink transfer. It's best to do the transfer with a fresh copy for some reason. Lift off the paper and start carving! I use a little exacto knife but the uniball carvers are good too. After you're done carving, the stamp may need wiping down gently with some additional fingernail polish remover to remove any excess transfered ink.

 

Well... that was rather long-winded and hopefully you will find it helpful. If you find it confusing or just wish to chat about the finer points of stamp carving icon_smile.gif drop me an email!

 

wavey.gif

 

quote:
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers (1879-1935)
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quote:
Originally posted by The Heavenly Host:

I made a pretty good picture using this technique...

http://www.kurki15rs.com/photocarving.html

But, now the question is how to get the picture onto the eraser to carve it.

 

Everywhere that cache is found,

Bound to Cover Just a Little More Ground.

-Dru Morgan http://www.theheavenlyhost.com

 

OK... this is one way that you can transfer a picture to an eraser. An Uncle Walter's Carving Block is best for me. It's basically a big white eraser block. Run the picture through a copier (not color) and trim away all excess paper from around your design. Obviously the design will have to be sized already to fit the eraser. Lay the picture UPSIDE DOWN ON THE ERASER BLOCK and soak a cotton ball with fingernail polish remover . Gently press the cottonball to the paper and soak it thoroughly. Let the paper sit undisturbed for about 30 seconds and carefully lift a portion of the paper to check on the ink transfer. It's best to do the transfer with a fresh copy for some reason. Lift off the paper and start carving! I use a little exacto knife but the uniball carvers are good too. After you're done carving, the stamp may need wiping down gently with some additional fingernail polish remover to remove any excess transfered ink.

 

Well... that was rather long-winded and hopefully you will find it helpful. If you find it confusing or just wish to chat about the finer points of stamp carving icon_smile.gif drop me an email!

 

wavey.gif

 

quote:
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers (1879-1935)
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Not to railroad the stamp discussion, which is an excellent idea... what do people think about stickers? The circle from the center of a CD label is perfect for my logo. I've been placing

these in log books when I remember to bring them.

 

Return labels, etc would be excellent and cheap. Anyone else do this?

 

/Alienpuppy

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And it is so cool it is a date stamp and it says:

CACHED BY

06/02/02

GEOVAMP

MSDARK

it is so quick you pull it out of your bag stamp the log book and you are on your way.Great for urban caches when eyes might be on you.

 

I would follow my GPS to the gates of Hell if it pointed that way.

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