I wanted to test some of the Midori Paintable Stamps ($13.25 each). First, I wanted to understand what “Paintable” meant but also how well I could find a use for these designs. I chose four different designs to experiment with how I can use them. I picked up the Book, Wreath, Calendar and Cat.
The first thing you need to know about the Midori Paintable stamps is that they are self-inking, which means there is black ink imbedded into the stamp itself. I don’t know if the stamp can be re-inked but its nice to be able to carry the stamp without needing an additional stamp pad.
Each stamp is approximately 2.25″ square. The casing is a little larger than the usable stamp area but the stamp, with the lid capped, is only about 5/8″ tall so they are fairly portable.
The ink in each stamp is black and the “paintable” part is that the ink is waterproof. So, like Henry Ford once said, “you can have any color as long as it’s black.”
I tested these stamps on different papers since I was pre-warned that the Midori Paintable Stamps can tend to bleed through on Tomoe River. On 100gsm dot grid paper, the stamps required slightly more pressure to get a complete impression. Using stamps can often take a little bit of practice so I recommend having some scrap paper to do a couple test stamps if you’re worried about “messing up”.
I tested the stamps on Tomoe River as well and the stamps required a lot less pressure to get a full impression but I did need to press gently over the whole stamp to get the design imprinted onto the paper completely. I didn’t get 100% perfect stamping but after my first attempt with the Calendar stamp, I think the others turned out fine.
Of the four stamp designs, I like the Wreath and Cat design best. They offer the most flexibility and can be used to test inks, make a header or a place for a note on a journal page.
The Book stamp, which was the one I was most excited about, has not worked for me space wise. I think, as someone who writes in English, the spaces available for placing information is too small. The book spine for the book title is tight and there’s no room for author name so it has to be put inelegantly in the lined area on the book cover which I assume was space for a review. NO WAY can I write a legitimate review in that space. I tried just putting the title and author in the cover area but it ended up looking kind of wonky as well.
The Calendar stamp left me underwhelmed. As a month overview, I’d rather purchase pre-made stickers for the year to add to my journal or planner like the Stalogy, Midori or even Well-Appointed Desk designs. As a tracker, the Calendar stamp would probably be okay if I remember to write the dates with a waterproof pen so that I could color over them without the ink smearing. So, really, with the Calendar stamp, “It’s not you. It’s me.”
Overall, I find the Midori Paintable Stamps an interesting concept and I look forward to using a few of them in my planner this year to see if I can make more interesting page layouts and designs using them.
Tools:
- Paper: Elia Note Tomoe River A5 Notebook (RM120.00 MYR) and Creeping Moon Wanderer 100gsm B6 Dot Grid Journal ($25)
- Pens: Marvy LePen Flex Brush Pens ($2.10 each) and UniBall Signo UM-151 0.38 ($2.85)
- Ink: Montegrappa Harry Potter Collection Limited Edition (no longer available)
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
