Mark McGovern said:
Dabs,
As I understand it, the "read-right" stamp is the nameplate, because the image is not reversed. It's just a quick and (I hope) cheap way to get a 3-D nameplate made from 2-D artwork.
yes exactly. i wonder about using the stamp as the plate itself because the polymer its made from is specially designed so that while ink will stick to it for a moment, long enough to make the imprint on paper, the ink WONT stick to it and build up long term. in fact, theres not much that does like to stick to it. thats why i advised making an rtv mold and a resin casting of it.
using read right stamps is a very old product designers trick. im fairly certain that most of the after market nameplates out there are done that way, not to mention other things. several years ago i designed a licensed "tales from the crypt" clock, showing the cryptkeeper holding his big book, where the book cover was the clockface. the entire cover was one big read right stamp incorporated into the sculpture. that made it easy to make sure that the numbers were in the proper places and add the logo.
by the way, if anyone is thinking of using a stamp as a mold for a nameplate, remember that it has to be flopped left to right as well as being mirror-imaged.
a read right stamp, depending on the size, shouldnt run you any more than about $20... and thats for a big one. remember too that there are sometimes technical difficulties with large black areas on stamps.