Grades K–2 · Arts & Music
How does an ink pad help a rubber stamp make a mark?
An ink pad holds ink in a soft, absorbent material. It keeps a small supply spread across a surface where a stamp can touch it.
In the diagramInk moves from pad to raised shape to paperink padmatching ring mark
The raised parts of a rubber stamp meet the pad first and pick up ink. Recessed parts sit farther away. When the stamp then touches paper, its inked raised parts leave a matching arrangement of marks.
The stamp can return to the pad for more ink and repeat the design. The pad supplies the color, while the raised shape decides where it touches. Neither part has to draw the design again by hand for every copy.
About this explanation
Starting knowledge: Know that wet ink can mark paper and recognize a stamp with raised shapes.
Sources
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History — Patent models for ink pads