Custom Vantage Web™ How to Create 2-Color and Multi-Color Stamps
by Becky Skelley
Introduction
In last month’s issue we discussed creating round stamps and round dater stamps. In this month’s segment we will discuss utilizing the feature within Stamp Shop Web that allows you to create and sell 2-color and multi-color custom products (See Image-1 for example impressions we’ll discuss). Multi-color products expand your customer’s purchasing options and add the ability to create a more unique and colorful product. Follow my steps and you’ll be offering multi-color products to the masses in no time…
Steps to Follow
Before we begin I would like to explain the difference between 2-color and multi-color products within Stamp Shop Web. 2-color products are built by splitting the product into two different areas ( either top to bottom or side by side) each area can be a different color determined by your customer. Multi-color products allow color choice line-by-line. The number of lines (or potential colors) is set by you, the administrator, when setting up the custom product information. For multi-color products you would want to set the amount of lines above 2.
To begin, sign into your website with an administrator’s username and password. Once you have signed in, you will see the admin area of your website with the blue tabs along the top of the page. Click on the Products tab, this is where we will create our 2-Color stamp. We will be creating a new product within the ADD New Product area with the product type set to 2-Color Customizable. Once created be sure to fill in all necessary pricing and description information, especially the Name field. Next click on the Custom Product Design menu item within the Edit Product menu (left side). Now you will see the screen split into two side-by-side sections. The yellow high-lighted squares on Image-2 designate the two different color areas of the stamp. The yellow arrows on Image-2 point to the two different areas where you will need to fill in information. First choose how you would like your 2-Color stamp to be split, either side by side or top to bottom. For our example choose top to bottom. For our example impression the die plate will be 1 inch high by 2 inches wide. On Side 1 set the height to .5 inches and lines to 1, custom attribute to Inking Stamps. For Side 2 set the height to .5 inches and the lines to 2, custom attribute also to Inking Stamps. In the middle of Side 1 and 2 you will see an area for the Gap Size and Common Side Height/Width. The Gap Size is the space you would like between each color area. The Common Side Width/Height is the length in inches of the shared side of the two color areas. For this example the Gap Size is set to .0125 and the Common Side Width is set to 2. Be sure to click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
We have now setup our 2-color stamp for the customer to design with custom text. See Image-3 for the product’s view on the store side. Within Image-3 you’ll see an image at the top of the page, How to Customize. Another feature of Stamp Shop Web allows you to add images and instruction pages for your customers to view on the customize page. To add an image or simple text instructions head back to the admin area of your site and click on the Settings tab. Within the Settings tab, on the far left menu click on the menu item titled, Custom Products. See Image-4 where we’ve broken down the areas where you can place the URL to a custom page (you would need to create) or add text/image into the field below each URL field for each type of product (Stamp Design Wizard page, Daters, Rectangle/Square products, Round products, and Signs). Each area allows you to add different instructions for each different product type for your customers to view and follow as they customize their product. Stay tuned for future installments where we’ll discuss how to create custom pages for your Stamp Shop Web site.
Next we’ll create our second product, a multi-color stamp (see bottom impression on Image-1). First click on the CPD Config tab where we’ll need to create our custom attribute for our multi-colored product. Creating a custom attribute was first reviewed back in July’s issue of MIM, where Amanda walked us through the process of creating a font set definition, then a custom attribute. For multi-color products you may use any FSD, however it must contain several ink colors. For this example we’ll create a new custom attribute by clicking on the Custom Attributes menu item on the far left, and at the top type in the new attribute, MultiColor and click the New button. Next we’ll need to fill in the necessary information; we’ll leave the Background Image and Insert Image blank. Set Insert Same as Ink Color to false and Allow ClipArt to true. For the FSD let’s choose an existing attribute, such as self-inking. And lastly for Shape set to Square and for Custom Type set to MultiColor. Click the Update button to save your new attribute.
Next head back over to the Products tab where we’ll create a new product with a type set to Customizable. Next be sure to fill in the name, pricing and description for this product. Click on the Custom Product Design menu item located on the far left of the screen. Here we will fill out all the customize information for this product, similar to a normal customizable product; the main difference is we’ll set the custom attribute to our newly created attribute, MulitColor. Click Save Changes to complete the process. Congratulations! You have now created a multi-color product!
What’s up for next month you ask? We’ll cover how to create and use shared and private features on all your products. Not sure what that means? Stick around and we’ll explain why you would want private/shared features and how they can make your customer’s ordering products from you much easier.