F A Qs

Frequently Asked Questions

        We love to hear how our clients use sealing wax, and all of the different packaging and personal uses created.

 

We have put together a brief guide with our wax recommendations for specific sealing needs.  Please visit our Sealing Wax Selection Guide.

What is the difference between Highlighting Ink and Seal Gilding Paste?

Our Highlighting Ink is a full sized ink pad which you dab a seal into prior to embossing your wax. This creates inked highlights on the embossed areas of the wax and helps release the seal from the wax. Our Gilding Paste is a product hand applied to the finished/cooled seal with an applicator. Often the paste is applied to the raised areas of the design, rather than the embossed. You will have greater control over placement with the paste.

 

What is the standard protocol for monograms?

A traditional 3 letter monogram would have a large center initial.
The first name initial is on the left, the last name initial is enlarged in the center, and the middle name initial is on the right.

If all initials are to be the same size, one could make the arrangement of their choosing: ABC ACB.
Don't forget we can also use an ampersand as the center initial, creating a way to tie the initials for two people together: A&B.

For a bride and groom, use their common last name in the center with their first initials on either side, with the bride's initial on the left, groom to the right.

 

Is your sealing wax mailable?

Most of our sealing waxes are mailable, meaning the wax will not break or crack during the handling it will experience during mailing.

* Please keep in mind that waxes will adhere differently to different papers.
If you have an exceptionally smooth or vellum paper, seals may perform differently.

* We highly recommend mailing a sample to yourself to see if the seals perform to your approval.

*The only wax we carry the we recommend not mailing is the traditional J. Herbin Cire Banque waxes.

* Please keep in mind that the automated machines used by the postal service can occasionally scrape off a seal or two. To avoid the danger of the sorting machines, we recommend having any sealed items hand cancelled.

* Our Faux Sealing Wax will hardly be affected by machinery in this manner, and is recommended at the most mailable sealing wax product.

 

Which of your products performs the best through the mail?

We have found all of our waxes mail, but each line performs a bit differently than the others. Our Faux Waxes mail with little to no damage to seals that we have seen to date. If you are undecided, try the different lines of our waxes and mail yourself your item with the seals attached.

This experiment will not only show you the final product and postage cost, you will know which wax performs best for your needs.

  

How do I use Sealing Wax?

We have written out detailed instructions on one of our WebPages. Please visit our instruction page through the "How to Use Sealing Wax" button to the left.

 

 

Do I need to use a glue gun with Glue Gun Sealing Wax?

Glue Gun Sealing Wax is molded to fit any standard size glue gun, but you are not restricted to a glue gun with this wax. Glue gun sealing wax can be melted down in our melting pot, or you may slice discs off to melt in a melting spoon over a flame - or heat with a craft tool to soften and emboss the wax.

 

How many seals will a stick of sealing wax create?

The average use any of our sealing wax sticks (wick or glue gun) will result in 10-13 seals. The size of the seal and the quantity will determine your final outcome of course, but you can estimate 10 seals from a stick of wax using a 3/4" diameter seal. Our packages of wax beads will create 40-50 seals on average.

 

Will I need additional postage for a wax sealed envelope?

While the true answer here relies on the weight of the item with the seal applied, we would offer the casual response of usually not for a personal letter. If you are mailing items with heavy paper stock or inserts we will always recommend taking a stuffed and sealed envelope to your post office to have it weighed. Don't forget to ask about hand canceling your item while you are there.

 

How can I change the color of sealing wax in my glue gun?

Changing the color of wax in your glue gun will require you to use the color already present in the gun, and using a new color to follow. Some of our customers disassemble their glue guns to change color, but we do not recommend this as the trigger mechanism can jam if not exactly reassembled. When you follow one wax color with another, the colors will melt together at the point of contact and create some marbling. If you wish to avoid this effect, place a small plug of clear wax or actual glue in between the two colors. You will have a small amount of glue marbling into your wax, but the color will not be affected.

 

Can I use sealing wax with my own glue gun?

Our sealing wax will fit any standard sized glue gun (not a mini). We recommend using a low temp glue gun, but a high temp glue gun will work just fine.

 

Can a custom color of wax be made?

We are unable to manufacture custom colors for our clients, but you can mix wax colors in our melting pot to create the perfect color.

 

Can I use a rubber stamp to emboss sealing wax?

A rubber stamp would work fine if you ink the stamp in clear embossing ink, or one of our highlighting ink colors. This will allow the rubber to easily release from the wax.

 

What is Highlighting Ink?

We are extremely pleased to offer special ink which is formulated to dry on non-porous and glossy surfaces, such as sealing wax. When you ink your seal in the ink then emboss the hot wax, a highlight of the ink is found in the embossed areas of the wax. A very sophisticated effect for any seal!

 

Where can I get a custom designed seal?

We are sorry, but we are not currently engraving custom works.  We are very happy to refer you to our dear friends and colleagues over at www.OldSchoolSeals.com.  You may recognize their work featured here in our store!

Can I use your sealing wax on a scroll, pochette, or traditional invitation?

All of our sealing wax is formulated to go through the mail without breaking, tearing, or cracking. If you have an invitation that is a scroll, or where the inner envelope is a pochette or envelope, you can seal directly on these items and break the seal to open your invitation.

 

     What payment methods to you accept?

We are happy to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Expres.
Our store also accepts PayPal and Google Checkout.
You may also select a "pay by check/cheque" method and mail us your order payment.

International payments may be made in US Dollars with any of these methods; please be aware of any fees your bank may charge for currency conversion.

What is your return policy?

We want you to be happy with your purchase, we will accept any unused non custom product back for an exchange or refund.
Simply mail to our address with note enclosed indicating your desire for a refund, exchange or store credit. Please be sure to include the name the order was placed under, or the order number.
Shipping costs are non refundable, and will be charged for items sent out for exchange.

Custom engraved monogram seals, custom artwork seals, and handmade self adhesive seals are not returnable/refundable, as these are custom made products.
We will not be able to cancel or refund an order for a custom made product once it has been placed, as production begins immediately upon order processing.
We will refund or remake any custom order made item in the event it was made incorrectly.

Please ship returns in a manner to protect from damage during shipping.
Insuring the item or using a tracking method is recommended.

Items must be returned in original, undamaged condition in order to receive a refund..

We will not be able to refund used sticks of sealing wax or glue guns with wax/faux wax in the barrel as an example.

Please inspect all shipments upon arrival. If you discover damage, please notify the carrier. Be sure to save the damaged cartons in their original condition until any claim is settled.

What is your order turnaround time?

Most items will ship 1-2 days from when the order was placed.
Please keep in mind that this time is in addition to the shipping methods we offer.
We ship items Monday through Friday.

Orders placed Friday through Sunday will ship the following Tuesday (often they will ship Monday).

Made to Order items take a bit longer to produce, as each is personally hand created in our engraving studio.
We have the production times for these items accounted for in the above said turnaround times.

 

Do you wholesale your products?

LetterSeals.com does not offer wholesale at this time.

  How much wax do I need?

 
Great question!
This can be a bit hard to answer, as some of our customers enjoy a conservative use of their wax to create a detailed impression of their sealing coin; while others find beauty in a large application of wax which will push itself out and around their sealing coin, creating a very opulent look.

Our estimate for wax use based on a round ¾” coin and the resulting seal being on the conservative side of sizes.  The seal has enough wax to push up into the detailing of the sealing coin, and a thin lip to exude out the side of the impression.  If your preference is for thicker seals, or more excess on the sides, please adjust your use estimates. 

Please keep in mind that you are welcome to return any unused waxes; over ordering for project needs may be a safety net you will need to meet your deadline.

 

Based on our estimates, here are the amount of seals per purchase and cost per seal you can generalize to your project needs.

Glue Gun Sealing Wax	10-12 Seals per stick	As little as $0.13/seal	Glue Gun Sealing Wax
Glue Gun Sealing Wax/Pound		$0.11 / seal	Glue Gun Sealing Wax per Pound
Faux Sealing Wax	10-12 Seals per stick	As little as $0.05/seal	Faux Wax Sealing Wax
Faux Wax / Pound		$0.03 / seal	Faux Wax Sealing Wax per Pound
Sealing Wax Beads	50-60 Seals /2oz Package	$0.08 / seal	Sealing Wax Beads
Beads / Pound		$0.06 / seal	Sealing Wax Beads per Pound
LetterSeals.com Wick	7-10 Seals per stick	$0.25/seal	LetterSeals.com Wick Sticks
French Blend Wick	20 Seals per stick	$0.10 / seal	French Blend Stick
Cire Banque	100 seals per package	$0.45 / seal	J. Herbin Cire Banque
Cire Souple	25 seals per package	$0.48/seal	J. Herbin Cire Souple
Cire Nacree	25 seals per package	$0.56 / seal	J. Herbin Cire Nacree
Waterstons	10-12 Seals per stick	As little as $0.21 / seal	Waterstons Sealing Wax
Stuart Houghton	10-15 Seals per stick	$0.17 / seal	Stuart Houghton Sealing Wax