Short answer: a date stamp, also called a dater or date stamper, prints the day’s date with rotating bands you set by hand. Carousel Checks sells a made-to-order Custom Date Stamp for $12.50 and a Standard Self-inking Date Stamp for $29.75 in 11 ink colors. Bank Checks Plus lists the same custom date stamp for $73.08, so Carousel is the place to buy it. Prices checked October 20, 2026.

Order the $12.50 Custom Date Stamp →

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What a date stamp is

A date stamp is a self-inking stamp with rotating rubber date bands for the month, the day and the year. You turn the bands to today’s date, press the stamp onto the paper, and it prints the date in the same place and style every time. Offices call it a dater; craft and stationery stores call it a date stamper. They are the same tool.

Self-inking means the ink pad sits inside the stamp body. Each press flips the bands down onto the paper and back up onto the pad, so there is no separate ink pad on the desk and no smudged thumbs. A good dater handles thousands of impressions before the pad needs replacing, and the bands run for years.

The check printers we cover sell date stamps next to their check endorsement, signature and address stamps. That makes it easy to add one to a check or deposit slip order and pay one shipping charge.

Date stamp prices compared

Date stamps sold by the check printers we cover, checked October 20, 2026:

Stamp Seller Details Price
Custom Date Stamp Carousel Checks Pre-inked; 1 5/8 by 1 5/8 inch imprint; red, black or blue/red ink; used for multiple years $12.50
Standard Self-inking Date Stamp Carousel Checks Viewable date mechanism; 10 additional years; 11 ink colors; arrives assembled $29.75
Custom Date Stamp Bank Checks Plus Same item number and 1 5/8 by 1 5/8 inch imprint as Carousel $73.08
Amended Copy Date Stamp Carousel Checks Bank stock stamp; black, red or blue/red ink $64.25
Received message stamp Carousel Checks Pairs with a dater; 3/4 by 1 7/8 inch imprint; extra ink pad included $12.25
Ideal 4924 square refill pad Carousel Checks 1 5/8 by 1 5/8 inch impression size; black, blue, green or red $9.00

The Custom Date Stamp is the same item number (STA-LAS-DCUS) at both stores, and Carousel charges $60.58 less for it. Checks Unlimited does not sell date stamps; it sells return address stamps instead.

Standard self-inking date stamp

Carousel’s Standard Self-inking Date Stamp ($29.75) is the plain office dater: it prints the date only. Carousel describes four features:

  • Viewable mechanism: you see the date bands while you change them, so you set the right day before the first impression.
  • 10 additional years: Carousel says each stamp has 10 additional years, so one stamp serves for multiple years.
  • Ink pad grips: special grips make changing the ink pad easy.
  • 11 ink colors: black, red, blue, green, light blue, purple, pink, signal yellow, zinc yellow, grey and orange, all at $29.75.

All of Carousel’s stamps come assembled and ready to use as soon as you receive them. Pick black or blue for documents you scan or copy, and red when the date has to stand out on a printed invoice.

Custom date stamp

The Custom Date Stamp costs $12.50 at Carousel and prints a square 1 5/8 by 1 5/8 inch imprint, the size of a large office received stamp. Carousel calls it pre-inked and says it lasts for thousands of impressions before you need to change the ink pad, and that each date stamp is used for multiple years. Ink choices are red, black or blue/red.

Because it is made to order, read the proof line by line before you pay. Popular wording on a custom dater is a company name, a department, or a word such as RECEIVED, PAID or ENTERED.

Compare both Carousel date stamps →

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What to date-stamp at home and at work

  • Incoming mail and invoices: stamp the day a bill arrives, so late fees and due dates are easy to check later.
  • Checks and deposits: date the back of a check when you endorse it, and date deposit slips and receipts before they go into the file.
  • Paid bills: stamp the paid date on the stub after you mail the check, next to the check number from your register.
  • Contracts, forms and applications: record the day a document came in or went out.
  • Library, classroom and inventory cards: due dates and receiving dates without handwriting.

For checks, pair the dater with a For Deposit Only endorsement stamp, and log each check in a check register. For invoices, add a Paid or Received message stamp ($12.25 at Carousel).

How to set and use a date stamp

  1. Turn the year band first, then the month, then the day, until the date in the window reads today.
  2. Test on scrap paper and check that the bands line up in a straight row.
  3. Hold the stamp straight, press down until it stops, then lift.
  4. Change the day band at the start of each day, before the first document.
  5. When the impression turns light, swap in a refill pad of the same size and color.

Keep the stamp locked or in a drawer when you use it for checks or deposits, the same way you keep a signature stamp out of reach.

Ink colors and refill pads

The standard dater comes in 11 colors; the custom dater in red, black or blue/red. Carousel’s Ideal 4924 square refill pad ($9.00, in black, blue, green or red) lists a 1 5/8 by 1 5/8 inch impression size, the same as the Custom Date Stamp. Stay with one ink color per stamp: a pad in a new color mixes with the old ink left on the bands at first.

How to order and delivery

  1. Pick the dater: Standard ($29.75) for the date alone, or Custom ($12.50) for your wording around the date.
  2. Choose the ink color.
  3. Add a refill pad and any matching message stamps.
  4. Choose delivery and pay.

Delivery: Carousel Checks lists Next Day Air (1 to 2 business days), 2nd Day Air (2 to 3), Ground (2 to 5), Trackable (3 to 7), USPS Priority (7 to 10) and Bulk (9 to 18 business days), plus processing time. Bank Checks Plus lists the same carrier options (Next Day Air 1 to 2 business days through USPS Priority 7 to 10), plus processing time.

Ordering checks too? Checks Unlimited sells Blue Classic checks at $23.49 for 80 and Carousel sells Blue Safety checks at $20.00 a box. Checks Unlimited sells MLB checks for 30 clubs, from the Yankees and Red Sox to the Dodgers and Cubs, and collegiate checks for 19 schools, including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Penn State and Tennessee.

Value Priced Personal Checks

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Date stamps: frequently asked questions

Where can I buy a self-inking date stamp?

Online from check printers: Carousel Checks sells a Custom Date Stamp for $12.50 and a Standard Self-inking Date Stamp for $29.75, and Bank Checks Plus lists the same custom date stamp for $73.08 (October 20, 2026).

What is the difference between a date stamp and a dater?

Nothing. Dater is the office supply name for a date stamp with rotating month, day and year bands; date stamper is a third name for the same tool.

How long does a date stamp last?

Years. Carousel says each standard date stamp has 10 additional years on it and is used for multiple years, and its custom date stamp lasts thousands of impressions before the ink pad needs changing.

What size is a custom date stamp?

The Carousel and Bank Checks Plus Custom Date Stamp prints a 1 5/8 by 1 5/8 inch square imprint. The Ideal 4924 refill pad ($9.00) lists the same impression size.

What ink colors do date stamps come in?

Carousel sells the Standard Self-inking Date Stamp in 11 colors, including black, red, blue, green and purple, and the Custom Date Stamp in red, black or blue/red.

How long does a date stamp take to arrive?

Carousel lists Next Day Air (1 to 2 business days), Ground (2 to 5), Trackable (3 to 7), USPS Priority (7 to 10) and Bulk (9 to 18 business days), plus processing time.

Related guides

Affiliate disclosure: GetBankChecks.com is an independent guide, not a check printer. Some links are affiliate links, and we earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Prices, codes and designs change, so check them on the merchant’s site before you pay.