Rubber stamps are also referred to as “mounted stamps,” as their rubber designs are mounted on wood. If you’re not a seasoned stamp aficionado, these are likely the kind of stamp with which you’re most familiar. These are usually paired with ink pads, but their designs can also be inked with markers like Tombow Dual Brush Pens.

Clear stamps attach to acrylic backing blocks.¹ This system allows you to position multiple stamps at once and see exactly where you’re placing them. This makes it simple to line a stamp up with a previous impression for layering effects. When you’re done, they’re easy to clean and easy to store; peel them off the acrylic and place them back on the included plastic sheets. For all these reasons, clear stamps are the favored stamps for crafting.

In this guide, we’ve categorized pre-inked and self-inking stamps together as “inked stamps.” Neither require ink pads, so you might wonder, "What's the difference?"

Pre-inked stamps contain liquid ink that flows through only the lines of their designs. You can think of them as ink pads in very specific shapes. Self-inking stamps, meanwhile, use a built-in ink pad to mechanically ink themselves with each press.

Some stamps like Midori Paintable Stamps and the C. Ching Stationery Rubber Date Stamp combine multiple designs in one stamp body. These are known as multi-design stamps or rotary stamps, a term often used for simpler old-fashioned date stamps. Rotary stamps are fun to fiddle with and arguably space-saving, though clear stamps might be equally easy to store.

Nombre Mizushima Jizai Clear Stamps are simple and stylish. Use them to decorate cards, envelopes, gift tags, or anything that stays still long enough to stamp it. Some designs are made for layering, like trees with trunks that can be stamped in different colors. Fittingly, those stamp sets come with two acrylic blocks, so you can align the two components and replicate layered combinations perfectly.

BGM Clear Stamps feature more elaborate designs in a wider range of sizes. Their sets include clean and minimal organizational options like checklists and schedules, but if your taste tends towards the cute, sets with flowers and animals balance charming detail with practicality. They have plenty of fanciful options that you can use to illustrate a page.

BGM stamp sets do not include acrylic blocks. This means you won’t have redundant blocks piling up, but don’t forget to add one to your first purchase. BGM's acrylic blocks are thick and easy to hold. Pick from two versions: the type with curved edges fits nicely in your hand, while the blocks with straight edges are printed with grids to make positioning stamps a breeze.

The minute designs of the MU My Icon Clear Stamps can fit into even the most crowded planner layout. If you’re designing your own DIY planner, use their dates, days of the week, and month stamps for neat headers. If you’re emphasizing important information, try their frame designs instead. They also have decorative options and phases of the moon.

MU Clear Stamps do not include acrylic blocks and they must be purchased separately. MU also offers compatible cylindrical acrylic blocks. We strongly endorse these blocks for all small clear stamps; their length means you can get a solid grip on them, their narrow diameter lends itself to precision, and peering down through them feels a little like using a jeweler’s loupe.

Nombre Mizushima Rubber Stamps contain clever templates to help you schedule and plan. Our favorites are the simple to do list and the weekly task reminder. Double-check the stamps before purchasing to be sure that details such as 24-hour time will work for you. Our minor caveats: the wooden blocks aren’t the most ergonomically friendly, and they can be fussy to place exactly right on the page.³

These large stamps can be inked with smaller ink pads by following our inking tips.

The retro design of the C. Ching Stationery Rubber Date Stamp is deeply satisfying to use. It includes a rotating selection of eleven sayings, plus one blank option, and a date section with days, months, and years spanning 2019 to 2030. Turning the side handle to select sayings or gripping the top to stamp a page is pleasantly tactile. It’s also our best pick by far for pretending you’re a librarian.

You’ll likely get the most use out of this stamp if you ink the sayings and the date separately. To that end, a small Versafine pad will work best. However, even a large ink pad will work if you strategically hang part of the stamp off the edge.

The classic rotary design of a Shachihata Rotating Stamps contains a wealth of detailed, delicate decorative options. These stamps are great for small touches, though many designs can (with patience) be repeated to create borders and the like. We think these would be lovely used as “scene breaks” between journal entries.

Beverly Ink Companion Stamps feature mind-bogglingly adorable designs depicting pens and ink bottles (sometimes with companion animals)! These stamps have all the usual craft applications, plus one unique intended usage: organizing an ink collection. Whether you stamp over a squiggle of ink or use a paintbrush or glass dip pen to carefully fill in between the lines, these stamps add impeccable charm to your ink swatches.

Given the remarkable use case of these stamps, we tested our ink pads to see if they were compatible with fountain pen ink. Luckily, it’s hard to go wrong here. Our first recommendation is the Sanby ink pad. Its ink picks up crisp detail and is completely non reactive with the fountain pen inks we tested, plus its large surface area makes re-inking stamps simple.

Miniscule Beverly Planner Companion Stamp Sets are an absolute joy to use. With nine to a set, you’re presented with a generous selection of stamps, ranging from adorable animals to practical choices like schedule or hobby stamps. The slight springiness of their tips, created by a thin layer of foam between rubber and block, lets you evenly apply force while reducing the risk of smudging. Their marks easily fit into a crowded planner, and the stamps themselves tuck just as handily into a pen case. Each set comes in a clear plastic case to keep it safe and tidy.

The adorable designs gracing Sanby x Eric Small Things Stamps come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, all paying tribute to the small lovely joys in everyday life. If you need a border along the edge of a page or the bottom of a letter, grab a Combination Stamp. They can also be slotted together to form larger blocks of designs. Even the practical Date Stamps have a detailed frame around the adjustable date section.

Be careful when cleaning the plastic Combination Stamps. Some stamp cleaners will smear the printed designs on top. We recommend using only gentler inks, like the Sanby ink pad, and avoiding multi-surface inks like the Tsukineko StazOn, so stronger cleaners aren't necessary.

Midori Self-Inking Paintable Stamps each contain ten rotating designs on themes ranging from cats to plants to months and days. With each press of the stamp, the selected design presses against the internal ink pad and then flips lightning-fast to the paper—all with a satisfying kachunk! Their marks are consistent and precise, perfect for their small and delicately-wrought designs. The non-smearing oil-based ink can be colored in with your favorite water-based markers. Note that alcohol-based inks will smear these stamps.

The internal ink pad may dry out quickly, which can be slowed by removing and capping it between uses. Inserting and removing the ink pad takes a little more force than you might expect. Don’t worry; you won’t break it, but make sure the tiny grooves are correctly lined up.

Midori Pre-Inked Paintable Stamps will make any list delightful. From to-do lists and grocery shopping to vacation planning and habit tracking, these stamps add liveliness and character to organizing your tasks. They stamp clean, crisp lines that don’t bleed or smear at all under water-based markers, though, like the other Midori Paintable stamps, alcohol-based markers will smear.

If you don't want your lists to be trapped on one page, Midori offers compatible sticky notes in a perfectly-matched size. Move them to wherever you’ll be best reminded.

Don’t mistake Pilot FriXion Stamps for chapstick! We’re not saying we did that, but we do think it would be understandable. Each slim stamp has a pre-inked design the size of your pinky nail. Some, like the birthday cake or airplane, will add bright organizational touches to a planner, while others are just plain adorable.

Filled with the same thermosensitive ink as the popular FriXion pens, marks vanish⁴ from the page with a rub of the “eraser” on the end of every stamp. If your plans change (inevitable and inescapable), removing a mark and re-stamping elsewhere only takes a second. These stamps are a little slow to dry and each design is only available in one color. Coloring over them with water or alcohol-based markers will also dramatically smear and fade them. That said, they’re cute, convenient, and unique among our selection for their "erasability."

Cats with attitudes and tiny helpful people will frolic across your pages with the aid of Iconic Diary Stamps. These stamps marry practicality—we hope that somewhere a teacher will use the kitty check mark to grade papers—with oodles of character.

An Iconic Diary Stamp's chunky shape is easy to hold and hard to lose. A little practice is necessary for consistent results—what helped us was pausing for a second before lifting the stamp. Their ink holds up well to coloring with water-based and alcohol-based markers. One caveat: the sticker on top of the stamp doesn't always align with the stamp, so be sure to check the inked end and make sure it's positioned correctly before you press down on the page.

The Sanby x Eric Small Things Stamp Pad doesn’t overcomplicate things. Only available in black, marks from this ink pad are crisp and dark. This ink may bleed through a page if you use a particularly thin paper or stamp with a heavy hand, but this also means it dries quickly. The pad features a hinged lid with a charming design just like the stamps in the same line. It takes up desk space when it’s opened, but it’s impossible to lose.

Shachihata Stamp Pads feature a selection of traditional Japanese colors. These tasteful hues are a little earthier in tone than the other pads we offer. Use the Shachihata ink pads to create harmonious color schemes. While a fairly generous size, these pads have a raised lip around the inked surface that makes them less than ideal for dabbing ink onto oversized stamps.

The shimmering ink of the Tsukineko StazOn Metallic Ink Pads adds a special something to your crafting. This ink even stays crisp and beautiful on dark backgrounds and nonporous materials like plastic and metal. We will say that this ink is a bit of a diva; setting up the ink pad and cleaning your stamps after your project are more involved processes than with other inks. This ink also demonstrates bleedthrough on absorbent paper or when stamped wetly. While you might not want to make it part of a planner routine, it’s stunning on cards or gifts.

Tsukineko StazOn Midi Size Ink Pads contain a less fussy multi-surface ink than the metallic StazOn pads. While they resemble standard ink pads, and their ink leaves dark, quick-drying (and bleedthrough-heavy) marks on paper, this ink really stands out from the rest on plastic, metals, and other non-paper materials. After a few minutes of curing, it won’t smudge one bit. Given their wide range of colors, these inks will work well for both crafts and practical labeling.

Tsukineko VersaCraft Soramame Ink Pads create the crispest, most detailed stamp marks of all the ink pads we tested. Perhaps it’s due to their unique form factor: their tiny thimble-like shape fits on the end of a finger and encourages carefully dabbing ink onto the surface of a stamp. You can also use them to blend colors on a stamp and emphasize details. They come in sets of four that make picking a palette easy, and their marks will also stay put on other porous surfaces like fabric and wood.

Tsukineko Versafine Ink Pads are available in a wide range of deep, vivid colors. They also pick up delicate detail from intricate stamps and dry quickly on paper. Their ink shrugs off water-based markers and, when used on a coated surface, is a great base for embossing powder. In the small size, the stamps can be stacked on top of their lids, saving space on your work surface and keeping things tidy. We did notice a significant amount of showthrough with these inks, but minimal bleedthrough, and we believe it’s a fair tradeoff for the great color quality.

The “chalk ink” of the Tsukineko VersaMagic Dew Drop Ink Pads is light on white paper but pops off the page on a darker background. Sitting on the surface of a page, this ink has very low showthrough even on thin paper like Tomoe River Paper, making it perfect for planners. The teardrop shape of these ink pads also allows for precise application. Use the pointed end to blend or accentuate details, or ink a large stamp quickly with the rounded end.

Our first inking tip applies to classic and inked stamps alike: always test in an inconspicuous area or on a throwaway scrap first, not the center of your planner spread or big craft project. Your ink and paper combination might lead to bleedthrough, and positioning a stamp you’ve never used before can be tricky (unless it’s a clear stamp).

When inking a clear or rubber stamp, you should hold your stamp in one hand and your ink pad in the other, then dab your ink pad against your stamp with small, quick motions. This prevents overinking and makes it easy to use a small ink pad for larger stamps. Switch ink pads in the middle of the process for a gradient color effect.

Sometimes dye inks can bead up on brand new clear rubber stamps, causing uneven stamping. Head this off at the pass by rubbing a new clear stamp with a clean microfiber cloth until it goes from crystal clear to cloudy. "Priming" your stamp like this should fix the issue.

Pre-inked and self-inking stamps don’t require cleaning, but cleaning a clear or rubber stamp isn’t too much of an additional hassle. Most inks wipe right off with a moistened, soapy paper towel, though you could also invest in a reusable stamp cleaning cloth. Microfiber cloths are popular as they won't leave any fibers caught in stamp designs.

Some more stubborn inks like metallics may call for additional stamp cleaner. All inks will be harder to clean if you let them fully dry on the stamp, so it’s better to strike while the iron is hot, or the stamp is damp, as it were.