Creative Fuel: Design Your Own Postage Stamps

Molly W. Joss

A while back, I wrote a column that mentioned the scarcity of postage-stamp designs suitable for Valentine’s Day cards. So I was delighted to hear that the postal service is making it possible for people to create stamps using their own designs and images. Of course, I had to dive in and make a few.
Stamps.com, a company that provides online postage services, revived its PhotoStamps project on May 17, 2005, for a year-long trial run. You may remember the test-run of this concept in the summer of 2004 — it was extremely successful, with more than 2.75 million stamps ordered. Stamps.com pulled the project when people found they could order stamps of just about anybody or anything, including the infamous Lewinsky blue dress.
You may remember the test-run of this concept in the summer of 2004 — it was extremely successful, with more than 2.75 million stamps ordered. Stamps.com pulled the project when people found they could order stamps of just about anybody or anything, including the infamous Lewinsky blue dress.
The few questionable images that made it past the company’s review process and onto stamps helped bring the project to a sudden stop. Fortunately, Stamps.com decided to try again after putting together a crack team of image reviewers. You can review the company’s new image acceptance regulations at https://photo.stamps.com/PhotoStamps/conditions/.
The Process
The examples on the PhotoStamps Web site are straightforward photographic ones, but you can submit images you’ve created (such as line drawings) or images you’ve edited. If you’re using copyrighted material, make sure to get the necessary permissions first. (See Eric J. Adams’ column “Do Unto Others” for details.)
I came up with lots of ideas for design-your-own stamps. After uploading a few to the site for previews, I realized I had to take the final image size into account — which meant I couldn’t include lots of fine details. I could use full-color images — in fact, Stamps.com won’t print black and white images during this trial run.
I took a digital photograph of my cat and had some fun running the image through a Photoshop filter or two. I bet this little cat, who was a scrawny, sickly feral kitten when he wandered into my yard a few years ago, never thought he’d see his face on a stamp. I also bet he won’t care unless I spread some tuna on the stamp. The finished stamps will be amusing to use on cards to friends and fellow feline aficionados, though.

My cat now graces a legal United States stamp.

 
I crafted a few more stamps using graphics from the Dynamic Graphics Group, including a stamp for a fiftieth birthday party invitation, one for a wedding invitation, and one for my business. I would have ordered more, except my budget for “let’s see how it goes” projects isn’t that big. The custom stamps are more expensive than regular ones (about 85 cents each if you buy one sheet of 20 first-class letter stamps, slightly less the more you buy of one design).

These stamps will look great on a fiftieth birthday card, a wedding invitation, and my business correspondence.

 
It was easy to upload the images and order the stamps. In fact, it took me longer to choose a frame color than to upload the images. The ten frame colors are black, dark and light blue, violet, green, red, orange, dark gray, pink, and yellow. The site has basic image controls that let you move the image around within the frame, and flip, zoom, and rotate. I didn’t need them because I did my image editing in Photoshop Elements.
I liked that I could upload images to the site and leave them there for later use or to show to other people. One thing I didn’t like is that you can’t download a copy of the preview. It would be great to do that so you can show the stamp design to other people. However, you can achieve the same result by downloading one of the sample images and substituting your image in the box.
You can expect to receive stamps within a week of the day you order them. They’ll arrive on a sheet and be self-adhesive, just like the stamps you buy at the Post Office.
Custom Cards
Custom stamps work well with purchased cards, but they’re fantastic with handmade cards or on cards with matching or coordinating designs. I made a few birthday cards to go along with the birthday stamp I created. My favorite has a deep purple background paper that’s a self-stick velvet on paper stock, something I hadn’t seen before my last trip to the mega-craft store.

Need a creative boost? Visit paper or craft stores for a wealth of materials, like the ones I used in this birthday card.

 
Try This Yourself
I don’t often recommend something wholeheartedly because we all have our individual likes and dislikes. However, it’s hard for me to find a reason why you shouldn’t try creating your own stamps. A stamp is a small thing — in this case, 1.4 inches high by 2 inches wide — but it can add the perfect finishing touch to a special card or invitation. Creating custom stamps for your business or for clients is also an ideal way to add a unique, personal touch.