Duotone stamping is a printmaking technique applied to the creation of a pair of rubberstamp images.
To produce a duotone image, you need two things: one image that serves as the negative print and the other that serves as a positive print. Unlike shadow stamping in which an image is overstamped onto a background shape, in duotone stamping the two images are matched. One will produce a positive print (and the other a negative) or one could contain areas of broad color with the basic shape of the image while the other has the detailed lines. When using these paired rubberstamp images with at least two tones of ink (could be more or a rainbow pad), it can produce spectacular results. And without all the time consuming effort of masking and stamp positioning!
Many different results can be achieved depending upon the color and type of ink selected and the sequence in which the images are stamped. To begin, select two complementary or contrasting colors of ink and a set of our duotone stamps. Stamp the image containing areas of broad color first using a lighter ink. Overstamp the positive image using a darker ink. In this example, the ink color used for the first image will show through. Note that there is no need for a stamp positioner— a rough placement of one image over the other is all that is needed. In fact, some interesting effects are created by having the images offset from each other.
