Wax Seal Crest: Designing a Stamp That Presses Clean

A short history of the wax seal

For centuries a seal pressed into wax did two jobs at once: it closed a letter so that anyone opening it would leave a mark, and it showed who had sent it. Families and officials had their arms or crests cut into a metal seal or a signet ring, and that small picture stood in for a signature.

The wax itself changed over time. In the Middle Ages it was usually beeswax mixed with a resin from the larch tree, often colored red with vermilion. From the 1500s, as European trade with the Indies grew, makers began adding shellac, which gave the hard, glossy red sticks most people picture today. Once postal systems took over the job of delivering mail safely, seals became more about ceremony than security. Modern sealing wax often comes as flexible sticks made for glue guns, so a seal can bend a little in the mail instead of cracking.

Design rules for a crest that presses well

• Think small. Custom wax stamp heads are commonly about 1 inch (25 mm) across, and some makers offer sizes from about three quarters of an inch up to an inch and a quarter. The finished seal spreads a little wider than the stamp. Design for the smallest size you might order.
• One emblem, or just your initial. A single bold charge such as a rose, a tree, a bee, a star or your initial reads clearly in wax. A shield packed with symbols turns into a blur. In Crest Studio, the "Your initial" emblem takes your first letter, or a monogram such as A&J when you enter two names.
• Thick lines and open space. Wax fills fine gaps and softens thin lines. Stamp makers often ask for lines of at least about 1 point and say thicker lines engrave better. A plain field or a single split, such as a chevron or a line down the middle, holds up far better than quarterings.
• Few words. A name around the edge and a short motto can work on a larger stamp. Keep the motto to two or three words, or drop it and use the year instead.
• Color does not carry. A stamp has no colors, only raised and sunken areas, and the wax you choose sets the color. What matters is a clear shape, which is why heraldry's rule of tincture (a metal on a color) is still a useful test: a design with strong contrast on screen usually has a strong silhouette too.

What to send your stamp maker

1. A black and white file. Many custom stamp makers ask for artwork in black on white, where black marks the parts to engrave. The $19 Heirloom set includes a round seal in solid black as an SVG and a PNG: your shield inside a ring, with your name over the top and your motto or year underneath. It also has a color version of the same seal for stickers and labels.
2. Vector if they take it. Makers often ask for vector artwork, or a high-resolution image of around 600 dpi if not. The SVG files scale to the exact stamp size without blurring.
3. The right way round. Send your design as you want the wax to read. The engraver reverses it on the stamp, and some makers specifically ask customers not to mirror the artwork themselves. Check your maker's instructions to be sure.
4. Room for a proof. A good maker will send a proof and may thicken lines or drop small details so the stamp presses cleanly. That is normal and usually an improvement.

Where a crest seal works

• Wedding invitations and save-the-dates, often with a joint crest split down the middle (see the wedding crest maker)
• Holiday cards, thank-you notes and letters to family
• Gift wrap, bottle necks and jar lids for homemade gifts
• Packaging and thank-you cards for a small business, alongside a crest logo
• Bookplates, certificates and props for tabletop games

The same simple design rules apply to other small, single-color uses. The signet ring crest guide covers engraving in metal, and the heraldry meanings guide explains what each emblem traditionally stands for.

Design your seal crest

More free heraldry tools