Using the filters for wax stamper

[Barbara]

I'm trying to work out which of the two filters to use. Looking at the example in the Google doc where the original art is shown, it appears that whatever is white in our design is raised on the stamper, and will mean that the white parts of our original design will sink into the wax. The filter explanations are a bit confusing, so am I right or dead wrong?

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[Barbara]

I tried this where, in the graphic, the heart is black and the text is white. It appears I was correct about white sinking in. Yes?

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[Sara_H]

@Barbara like on this one - the heart is raised on the wax (black)  and the text has been stamped into the heart (white) - if on your artwork you had a white heart - it wouldn't show obvs but if you did a heart line shape with black text - they that would be raised (on the wax)

[Barbara]

I'll have to play with this. I almost understand what you're saying because, when I tried a candy cane, no matter which choice I made, either the red disappeared or the black disappeared. Either way, it was a no go. Maybe I should try simple tests using Elements to see who does what.

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[Sara_H]

the red would be transferred to 'black' as like the foil option - only black and white can be seen. If you took your candy cane into photoshop and changed the colors from red and white to black and white it could work?

[Barbara]

I suspect the candy cane would need a well-defined black outline around it, which I'll try tomorrow when I'm fresher. I really like these stamps, and testing is the only way to learn how to do them properly. It's like looking at the world upside-down.

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[Sara_H · Accepted solution]

@Barbara for testing purposes- to see what sort of effect you like - utilize the zazzle icons just to see which style works for you (saves you time making them) then at least you can see what combination works for you and what doesn't.  

Obviously you can't use them directly but at least it can be a visual aid as to how the black and white graphic works on the stamp

[Barbara]

Perfect! Thank you!

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[Sara_H]

@Barbara  Looking at this example https://www.zazzle.com/zazzle_resolution_test_brass_wax_stamper-256780025673499109 if you scroll down to the artwork - white is height and black is background (i.e the white will punch it's shape into the wax whereas the black is flat on the wax or at least that's how I understand it. I could be complete wrong though

And I believe they've just copied the filter explanations from a previous product - i think that's why it doesn't make sense specifically to the wax seals 

[Barbara]

Thank you. You've given me a rhyme to recite: White is height, black is back. I think you're right about the filter explanations. Then there are the images of the wax imprints appearing to my tired eyes as optical illusions.

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[Sara_H]

Though if you want the text to be raised - black is stacked and white is slight

[Barbara]

What? You mean text is the reverse so that black is higher than white?

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[Sara_H]

From the ones I've seen - mostly the artwork is black which means on the wax itself - it's bumpy (i'm sure there's a word for it)

[Connie]

I didn't see any explanations of what white or black does in the Creator Guide- where did you see it? But it looks like the black areas will be raised on the actual wax, and the white areas are inset.

[Barbara]

@ Connie: Using Sara's suggestion of testing by using Zazzle's icons showed it very clearly. It also showed that we should be leery of fine lines because they can disappear. Wax doesn't create thin mountains easily, if at all. I tested this out with a few different fonts and will be using only the bolder ones.

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