2 Ways to Refill Non-Refillable Rubber Gel Roller Stamps Such As Pre-Inked Oil Based 2000 Plus ID Guard

I am going to show you how to refill pre-inked stamps. There are two kinds of stamps: self-inking stamps which you add ink by yourself; these inks are usually water-based. The second type is pre-ink stamps; these inks are generally oil-based. Check with the manufacturer and make sure which type your stamp uses.

Let's take a look at the anatomy of the pre-inked stamps. A sponge base serves as an ink reservoir. Then we have a layer of rubber or gel that absorbs the ink. The rubber will either print or serve as an oil pad for the stamp. Your goal is to add ink to the sponge, not to the rubber, because rubber absorbs the ink very slow. Today we are going to use a BCH 20-milliliters ink. To use this ink, you need to cut open the seal and then unscrew the top cover, cut off the refill tip. We will also use a BCH 30-milliliters ink. You don't need to cut off the tip for this ink, and this ink also comes with a precision tip adapter.

Now, let's take a look at this one-time-use gel stamp pad. The pad says no refill needed, which means you can't refill it. We cut off the corner of the pad. You can see there is no sponge underneath, so we added the ink to the bottom of the pad. It will take a day or two for the pad to absorb the ink. Here is a 2000 Plus stamp that comes with a non-refillable ink pad. There are buttons on each side. When you slide down the stamp while pinching from both sides, the stamp locks midway. We took the plate out. If we add few drops on the top and leave the pad overnight, it should work. The best way is to lift the corner and add drops of ink on the sponge foam underneath the rubber.

We saved the best for the last. This stamp has a removable cartridge.

The cartridge is not refillable and will cost $8. We cut the stamp core open. You can see there is a sponge cylinder. A layer of rubber covers the sponge. To refill, we remove the rollers cover first. There are two methods. Instead, the rod comes off in two pieces. You can pull out the part with a more extended rod, fill in space with ink, and leave it for 24, 48 hours. Then there is another way. We used a rotary tool to drill two holes through the sponge. Then we fill it up with ink using the precision tip. Now we can use the roller stamp right away. It will take about three to six hours for the ink to spread, but you don't have to wait for it.