FAQ's

Here are some answers to the most common questions that I have been asked !

Q. What is the difference between 'Edge Text' and 'Secret Message'

A. Edge Text is engraved onto the face of the stamp and is visible in the sealing wax impression, a strong bold font is preferred, otherwise the text will not be deep enough or bold enough to show in the final wax impression. We do not recommend thin scripted fonts for the Edge Text. The 'Secret Message' is engraved onto the curved back surface of the stamp, maybe some choice meaningful words, a date or anything you wish, it does not show up in the wax and is visible as you are using the stamp.

Q. How do I get a wax seal stamp created for my own business or personal design?

A. Firstly you need to send us your artwork (email: sales@customwaxnseals.co.uk), please ensure if is either : jpg @ 300dpi black on white (at least half page size) or Vector AI, PDF, WMF, CDR, CMX, EPS format. See full artwork instructions here : How to submit your design - we will then email you a price based on your submitted artwork - or recommend how it can be adapted if your design is not suitable.

Q. How do I obtain a quote for products I wish to buy?

A. The simplest way to do this is to add all the products you wish to purchase to your shopping cart, you can then select shipping for your country and get a full price, if you create an account your shopping cart will then be saved until you log in again.

Q. I am using an iPad or iPhone - and cannot see all the information and pictures - what do I do ?

A. Scroll down the the bottom of the page and switch to ' Standard View' - now the website will be fully visible.

Q. I only have a small order - why is the minimum shipping so high ? Can you not post them to me by Royal Mail by First Class post to save me shipping costs?

A. While we realise our shipping our products by Courier does make fees higher than Royal Mail, we do find Royal Mail inconvenient - postal mail has to be personally taken to a Royal Mail Post Office by car, which uses petrol and time, we then have to queue to park the car, and queue again in the Post Office to hand over the mail - taking into account our time Royal Mail does in fact work out more expensive in the long run for us. Courier on the other hand is collected daily from our premises at no extra cost or loss of time.

Q. How do I stop my wax seal sticking to the sealing wax as I use it ?

A. We suggest you keep you wax seal cold on wet ice (freeze some water in an thermos cup, and just put a drop on water top to stop the seal sticking to the ice) while you are sealing. Dry your seal off on a piece of paper towel just before use. Otherwise the stamp will get extremely hot during use and stick the sealing wax.

Q. Does the colour bleed from the sealing wax - will it stain my product ?

A. We strongly suggest you test the wax on your product first, all our seals and sealing wax contain pigments, more vibrant the colour, the more chance of colour bleed on stain certain papers. This can be prevent to a degree with the use of a double sided peel n stick tab as a barrier.

Q. Help ! the sealing wax has stuck to my wax seal stamp and I don't know how to get it clean - what should I do?

A. We recommend you screw the seal off the handle, and soak the brass part in turpentine spirits, make sure the room is well ventilated, leave the seal to soak overnight, you may need to repeat the process more than once. We do not recommend you pick the wax out with a needle as this may damage the engraving.

Q. Do You Ship WORLDWIDE?

A. Yes we do, it is very easy to ship custom wax seals to the USA and everywhere else in the world, via FEDEX or DPD (FEDEX being the fastest). VAT / taxes are not chargeable on International orders outside of the EEC and will not be added to your order.

Q. How are we supposed to know what each font looks like?

A. We have done our best to show the fonts available, by selecting the sample for that font, you are taken to a 'font sample page' which will show how every letter looks in that font - it is not possible to show every combination of letters, but at least this will give you an idea - view our Font Library

Q. How do I know what the price would be in my own currency?

A. We have included links at the top of the page to view prices in Australian Dollars, USA Dollars, Euro and UK Pounds, all payments are taken in UK Pounds and currency conversion rates may fluctuate and are beyond our control.

Q. I am frightened about giving my Credit Card via the Internet - it it secure?

A. Yes, you are very safe using your Credit Card with this site, all transactions are handled via Worldpay or PayPal no credit card details are held by The Design Station Ltd, the only records kept are your order details and contact details, just in case we need to contact you regarding your order.

Q. You don't have what I am looking for?

A. Please contact us with details of your requirements - and we will do our best to locate suitable artwork, or even to draw it ourselves.

Q. I need my order ASAP as I have left it a bit late - can you do this?

A. Yes, with our Express Engraving Service we can dispatch orders within 2-3 days and also have various delivery methods available. A Pre-paid Courier door to door service is now also available for orders Worldwide, and is not too expensive,

Q. Why are the seals so expensive when I can buy one off eBay for $1.50?

A. Yes I have been asked this question - Our Stamps are not a mass produced, they are not castings like many on the market today - each seal is individually laser engraved and hand finished, and can take anything from 30 mins to 2 hours for larger stamps to engrave, as the laser will repeatedly burn the design until the required depth is reached. This process is more expensive than normal engraving, as the machines used to engrave the stamps cost well over £45,000 and are powered by electricity :) John doesn't stand there turning a handle while the machine engraves the stamp. The handles are also individually hand finished - this all takes time and labour and adds to the cost. Artwork costs also have to be factored into the final price, time creating the design, or sometimes more than one design so our customers have a choice.