What is the difference between all the different Stamp Inks?
OK, so I am going to give you the skinny on what all these different types of inks are and how to use them.
Dye Ink
Other examples of this ink would be
1. Stampin Up! Classic Ink2. Memories Ink by Hero Arts
3. Nick Bantock Dye ink from Ranger
Important information to know about this ink...
a. they are not waterproof
b. they work great with traditional rubber stampsc. they don't work so great with the new clear stamps. (ink beads up on the polymer)
d. they clean up very easily with soap and water
e. they will fade over time.
f. The are acid-free
What Can I do with these inks?
1. Once you have stamped an image on paper you can color them in with 'dry mediums' such as colored pencils, crayons, and chalks.
2. You can use these inks as watercolor.
2. You get beautiful watercolor looks by spritzing the image with water after it is stamped on the paper. Another I idea is to ink up the stamp and spritz the image before you stamp it on paper. Play around with it and see what you can come up with. You can find other watercoloring techniques on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/
Distress Inks
OK, distress inks...really they are just dye inks. The only difference between Ranger Distress Inks and classic dye inks is that these are more wet. They will stay wet longer giving the designer more time to blend and distress (designers use these especially the browns, to create the 'old look' by blending the colors around the edges of paper). Because these stay wet longer if your using it as a stamp pad you just want to make sure and be careful not to smudge the image.
Important information to know about this ink...
1. this ink is a dye ink that stays wet longer.
What Can I do with these inks?
a. Everything you can do with a standard dye ink
b. Easily blend colors and give something an old look.
c. Use with Tim Holtz Distress ink's blending tools which give really cool effects. See his website for more information and techniques. http://www.timholtz.com/
Waterproof Dye Inks
Other examples of this ink would be...
1. Stampin Up! Basic Black, Basic Brown, and Basic Grey
2. Ranger Archival Inks
The Tsukineko ( Sook-en-echo ) Memento Inks are my personal all time favorite ink to use. My only beef is that I wish there were more colors. (there is 24, I believe right now but most are the brighter hues)
Important information to know about this ink...
a. Once dry these inks are waterproof (yaaaaaah!)
b. They are less fade resistant then traditional dye inks.
c. They work excellent on both traditional rubber stamps and clear stamps (yaaaaaah!)
d. They provide a much crisper stamped image than traditional dye inks (yaaaaaaah!)
e. You can you with Copic Markers (yaaaaaah!)
f. They are acid free.
g. Sometimes you may need to work a little bit at cleaning your stamps but usually soap and water will work, and this is a fair price to pay for all of the advantages.
What Can I do with these inks?
1. Did I mention yet that you can use copic markers on them? (yaaaaaaah!)
2. You can also use 'wet and dry' coloring mediums with them, so you can add chalks or you can watercolor.
Pigment Inks
Other examples of this ink would be...
1. Adirondack Pigment Pads
2. Tsukineko Versacolor
3. Tsukineko Opalite
4. Tsukineko Encore
5. Colorbox Metallics
Important information to know about this ink...
a. these inks tend to be thicker and do not absorb into the paper but sit on top and dry there.
b. they inks take longer to dry than dye inks.
c. sometimes they can be a little harder to clean off your stamp.
d. these work well with both traditional rubber stamps and clear stamps.
e. they do not give as crisp of an image as the dye inks.
f. they are fade resistant.
g. once set with a heat gun they are waterproof.
h. they will never completely dry on vellum/plastic/acetate.
i. they are acid free
What can I do with these inks?
1. My favorite thing do with these inks is to color chipboard with them. Traditional dye ink soaks in and does not give good color saturation on chipboard. Pigment inks sit on top and give great color on chipboard.
2. Your can emboss with them. Especially with the non-glittery/metallic ones (those are faster drying)
3. You can stamp with them just as you would with a dye ink (just won't be as sharp but it still looks good)
Chalk Ink
Other examples of this ink would be...
1. Tsukineko VersaMagic Chalk Ink
2. Memories Chalk finish
3. Stackable Colorbox Queue Chalk Ink
These are just pigment inks matte finish that resembles chalk.
Important information to know about this ink...
1. these inks dry quicker than other pigment inks so embossing isn't an option.
2. they are fade resistant
What can I do with these inks?
1. Everything you can do with a standard pigment ink (except emboss)
2. They look especially beautiful on dark cardstock.
Solvent Based Permanent Ink Pads
Important information to know about this ink...
1. These are permanent on almost any surface, including plastic, metal, wood, acetate, vellum, ect...
2. They come in transparent and Opaque finishes.
3. They dry almost instantly on porous surfaces and on non-porous surfaces (plastic) they take about 5 minutes to dry.
4. They smell like almond extract (I imagine to cover up a nastier smell).
5. they are acid free.
6. YOU CANNOT USE COPIC MARKERS WITH THESE, I know this seems counter-intuitive but the alcohol in those markers will smear the solvent in these pads.
What can I do with these inks?
1. You can stamp on almost any material (excluding fabric that will be laundered).
2. They are waterproof, so you can watercolor or use a blender pen.
3. You can make great looking acetate cards with these inks.
4. My basic black stamp pad that I use all the time is either Memento or Stazon. In my mind there is no reason to use a black dye ink because Memento or Stazon give a crisper image and also because those two inks also give me more options as to how I am going to color the image in.
Hybrid Inks
Other examples of this ink would be
1. Papertrey Ink's Perfect Match Inks
Important information to know about this ink...
a. They are part pigment part dye ink
b. They can be used on any surface.
c. It dries instantly but needs to be heat set on glossy or non-porous surfaces.
d. They are semi-opaque
e. They don't provide as crisp an image as the waterproof dye inks (in my opinion.)
f. They can be used on traditional rubber stamps as well as clear stamps.
What can I do with these inks?
1. You can stamp with them using rubber or polymer (clear stamps)
2. You can use them on all different surfaces including acetate and vellum
4. You can color in and use a blender pen with them or watercolor.
So, with all this information you are probably wondering which ink pads do you need to have? Here is what I suggest any stamper should have in their arsenal.
1. A Black Stazon Pad
(for stamping an image on acetate or vellum and also for watercoloring, or as I do, just use this as standard black pad because it gives a crisp image and has the most versitility. )
2. Black, Brown, and a couple other often used colors in the waterproof dye inks.
(This is so you can get a crisp image when using your clear stamps. Remember, dye inks bead up on clear stamps. )
3. A Couple pigment inks in darker colors
( so you can color chipboard)
4. A Couple pigment inks in lighter colors
(so you can use these on darker cardstock)
4. A couple pigment inks in sparkly or metallic colors
(for the holidays or any other time you want to add some sparkle)
5. Various Dye inks in colors you love, Dye inks have the most color options, and are a great option for rubber stamps.)
Thats it. I hope this information was helpful to someone because it took a long time to type.
Have a great weekend.
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This is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I Love that you shared this with me. I am not much of a stamper, because I'm lazy, lol. But I have always wondered what the difference was!
ReplyDelete