ESS sets custom stamp text in 14 fonts at 8 to 72 point, and its order menus label Arial, 12 point and Word Caps as the most common choices. At 12 point a capital stands about 1/8 in. tall and roughly 9 characters fill an inch. Wood handle stamps offer a narrower point size range than self-inking and pre-inked models. Below are every font, the point size menu, the letter height chart, and the justification, style and casing options, with what the numbers mean for your stamp.
Engineer Seal Stamps product desk. Checked against ESS product pages, order options and artwork guidelines. Sources read September 2026.
Which fonts can I choose for a custom stamp?
The font menu lists 14 typefaces. Arial is the one the menu labels most common; the other thirteen carry no label, so choosing among them comes down to the look you want.
- Arial, labeled most common
- Arial Narrow
- Arial Black
- Times New Roman
- Bookman Italic
- Courier
- Bank Gothic
- Copperplate
- Avant Garde
- Mono Corsiva
- Park Avenue
- Brush Script
- Futura
- Old English
You set the font on the product page together with the point size, justification, lettering style and casing. The rest of the order form, including the stamp type and the proof option, is covered in our custom stamp ordering guide.
What is the best font for a stamp?
ESS's own options point to Arial. The font menu labels it most common, and it is one of the four fonts ESS uses on its preset self-inking address stamps, alongside Times New Roman, Futura and Courier.
Those four make a sensible shortlist for a name stamp or any small block of text, since ESS already sets its 10 to 12 point address lines in them. No other font on the menu carries a label, and the letter height chart gives one set of figures for every typeface, so the size numbers below are the same whichever font you pick.
Notary stamps are a separate product. For them, see our guide to choosing a notary stamp font.
How tall are the letters at each point size?
Character height rises with point size, from about 5/64 in. at 8 point to about 3/4 in. at 72 point. The menu flags 8 point as very tiny, marks 12 point (about 1/8 in.) as most common, and calls 48 and 72 point very large.
| Point size | Character height (approx.) | Characters per inch (approx.) | Menu label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 point | 5/64 in. | 14 | Very tiny |
| 10 point | 3/32 in. | 11 | No label |
| 12 point | 1/8 in. | 9 | Most common |
| 14 point | 5/32 in. | 8 | No label |
| 16 point | 11/64 in. | Not listed | No label |
| 18 point | 3/16 in. | 6 | No label |
| 24 point | 1/4 in. | 5 | No label |
| 36 point | 3/8 in. | 3 | No label |
| 48 point | 1/2 in. | 2 | Very large |
| 72 point | 3/4 in. | Not listed | Very large |
Each step up buys height and costs characters per line. Moving from 12 to 18 point makes capitals half again as tall, 1/8 in. to 3/16 in., and cuts the count from about 9 characters per inch to about 6. Going to 24 point doubles the 12 point height to 1/4 in. and leaves room for about 5 characters in each inch.
The characters per inch column comes from ESS's letter height chart, which has no rows for 16 or 72 point; those two cells read Not listed.
How many characters fit on one line?
Multiply the plate's length in inches by the characters per inch for your point size. On a plate 2 in. long that gives about 18 characters at 12 point, about 22 at 10 point and about 28 at 8 point.
When the wording is fixed, run it the other way. A 30 character line needs roughly 3-1/3 in. of plate at 12 point, about 2-3/4 in. at 10 point, and a little over 2 in. at 8 point, the size the menu itself calls very tiny.
Treat these as estimates: the chart labels its figures approximate and gives one value per size across all 14 fonts. Plate lengths and line counts for every model are in our custom stamp size chart.
Which font sizes does each type of stamp offer?
Self-inking and pre-inked stamps offer the whole menu, 8 through 72 point. Wood handle stamps ordered by size stop at 48 point, and wood handle stamps ordered by line count stop at 18 point.
| Stamp type | Point sizes offered | Tallest characters (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Trodat Printy, round and Professional self-inking | 8 to 72 point | 3/4 in. |
| MaxLight, Slim and Super Slim pre-inked | 8 to 72 point | 3/4 in. |
| Wood handle, ordered by size | 8 to 48 point | 1/2 in. |
| Wood handle, ordered by line count | 8 to 18 point | 3/16 in. |
A size on the menu still has to fit the plate. A 72 point capital, about 3/4 in. tall, is taller than the 5/8 in. short side of a Trodat 4918 or a MaxLight XL2-145, so the biggest settings belong on the larger plates.
On a wood handle stamp ordered by line count, the impression is sized around your text, so the 18 point limit also holds its letters to about 3/16 in.
How should the lines be justified?
Pick flush left, center, flush right or full justify. Flush left aligns the start of every line, flush right aligns the ends, and center balances each line on the middle of the plate. Full justify stretches every line across the full width.
ESS's chart calls full justify full force. Because each line is pulled from edge to edge, a six letter line and a thirty letter line start and end at the same points.
Which lettering styles can I choose?
The style menu has five settings: Normal, Bold, Bold italic, Italic and First line bold. First line bold puts only the top line in bold, which is useful when that line is a name or a company.
Style is its own menu, separate from the font menu, so you pick a face such as Times New Roman on one and a setting such as Bold on the other.
Should the text be in capitals, Word Caps or lower case?
The casing menu offers ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, Word Caps, all lower case, and Exactly as it is typed. Word Caps, which ESS's chart calls title case, is the setting the menu labels most common.
Word Caps starts each word with a capital. Exactly as it is typed keeps whatever mix of capitals you enter, which is the setting to use for a name like DeWitt or an acronym inside a line.
With ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, every character reaches the full height in the chart, so at 8 point the whole line stands about 5/64 in. tall.
What font and size do ESS address stamps use?
ESS's preset 3 line and 4 line self-inking address stamps are set in 10 to 12 point type, in Arial, Times New Roman, Futura or Courier. A fully custom address stamp can use any of the 14 fonts at any size its mount allows.
That range puts capitals at about 3/32 to 1/8 in. tall, with roughly 9 to 11 characters per inch, which makes it a handy benchmark for any small block of text. If your address lines fit at 10 or 12 point, you are in the same range ESS uses for its own address layouts.
If you need more lines or a logo beside the address, pick a model from the stamp size chart by model and read the logo stamp artwork guide before you upload a file.
Frequently asked questions
Why do 16 point and 72 point have no characters per inch figure?
The order menu gives their heights, 11/64 in. and 3/4 in., but ESS's letter height chart has no rows for those two sizes. The 16 point height falls between the 14 and 18 point rows, which list about 8 and 6 characters per inch.
When does 8 point make sense?
When a line will not fit any other way; the menu itself labels 8 point very tiny. On the 1-3/32 in. long Trodat 4910, the chart allows about 15 characters at 8 point against about 12 at 10 point.
Can a logo stamp include typed text in these fonts?
Yes. The stamp type menu offers Text Only, Artwork/Logo, or Both Artwork/Logo and Text. Choosing both lets you add typed lines from the font menu next to your uploaded artwork; the custom logo stamp guide covers the artwork side.
Where can I find font guidance for a notary stamp?
Notary stamps are a separate product from custom office stamps. Our guide to notary stamp fonts and presentation covers how to set out a notary's wording.
Can I leave a note about the lettering?
Yes. The order form includes an optional special instructions field for anything the font, size, style and casing menus do not cover.
Once your wording, font and point size are settled, choose a model in the custom stamps collection and set them on its order page.
