|
Basic Ink Pad information
Explains the different types of inks and how to use them.
Courtesy
of Kimberly Caizier
(Edited by Christi Conley, with help from Lenna Andrews)
May 6, 2003 revised January 2006
TH"INK"ING
ABOUT BUYING INK PADS?
The first and most recognizable inkpads are the single color,
office-type felt inkpads, enclosed in a plastic case with a hinged
lid. While these may be suitable for an imprint on a "PAID" bill or
a bank deposit, they do not serve art stamping well. If you are
looking to start with some art stamping ink pads, here are a few
tips you can apply, no matter what type of ink is in a pad you are
considering buying: First, buy ink pads whose inking surface is NOT
flush with the plastic casing. You will want *raised* ink pads,
meaning that the inking surface will be elevated from the plastic
base. The reason for this is when you are working with a stamp
larger than the inking surface, you will not be able to completely
ink up the surface with a piece of plastic casing in the way. If
your inking surface is raised, you can move the stamp about freely,
or place the stamp face up on your table and "stamp" the inkpad all
around the rubber surface of your image to ink it up. In the event
of this scenario, it would also behoove you to have an inkpad with a
removable lid. Remember also that just because the inkpad is hinged,
does not necessarily mean that the lid is not removable. The inkpads
I own are an example of this case--the tops easily pop off with a
slight squeeze of the lid. I feel I get the best of two worlds with
this type of inkpad. On the one hand, because of the hinged lid, my
lid is not going to fall off if I toss it in a drawer, it won't get
buried under my paper piles as I am stamping and it won't get ink on
the lid when trying to put it back on straight (which inevitably
smears on my fingers and on my cards). On the other hand, with the
removable aspect of the hinged lid, if I feel the lid is in my way,
it is easily removed and then snapped back into place. The second
major criteria for me when purchasing ink pads is that the pad
should be re-inkable because I don't want to have to buy a new stamp
pad every time that particular color gets a bit dry.
Inkpads can come in one single color, or they can have a variety of
colors in the same pad. The latter is usually referred to as a
"rainbow" pad, although the color scheme used may be very different
from that found in a rainbow. With that said, let's take a foray
into some specific types of inks used in ink pads...
DYE INKS (WATERBASED)
(Stampin’ Up! Classic Ink Pads are an example of dye
inkpads ~
EXCEPT Black! Marvy Matchables are also waterbased
dye ink)
This will probably be the type of ink in the first stamping pads
you will use. It is general purpose ink for stamping on paper. Dye
inkpads come in a variety of sizes, as well as inking
surfaces--including felt, linen and sponge. This waterbased dye ink
may be used on most any type of paper and, most conveniently, has a
very quick drying time. The nature of the dye inks is such that they
soak in and stain the fibers of the paper. Many of these inks are
manufactured to be acid-free, but do tend to fade with time and
especially sunlight if your stamped item is not treated with a
special UV fixative to help impede that process. They also may run
if in contact with water or used in conjunction with water based
mediums such as markers to fill in detail areas. These may be
important considerations to keep in mind if your rubber stamp art is
mainly going to be expressed in scrapbooking.
If you are looking
for a waterbased dye ink rainbow pad, I suggest you purchase one
with the newest technology, meaning a case that actually separates
the individual colors of ink on their own small ink pad (Kalidacolor
pads and Stampin’ Up! Spectrum pads have this type of inkpad). These
pads are simply pushed together with the flip of a button to use for
a graduated color effect in stamping. The lids of these pads will
not close unless that special button separating the individual
inkpads has been engaged. This means that while you are storing your
rainbow inkpad, the colors will not intermingle and become "muddy".
It also means that you can re-ink each separate color as necessary.
And, it also means that you in fact have a number of small stamp
pads in one because if you separate the individual inkpads you can
ink up a small stamp with a single color.
They're pretty cool.
Waterbased dye inks are easily cleaned from your stamps with
water. Some stampers like to use damp paper towels or baby wipes to
dab the ink off.
WATERPROOF INK PADS (DYE-BASED)
(Stampin’ Up!’s Black inkpad is an example of dye-based
waterproof ink, so are the Memories inkpads)
This type of ink is dye-based, unlike the inks described above.
Because of this feature, these inks, once dry, will not run with
water. Some of these inks are also manufactured acid-free and may be
preferred for their waterproof quality in scrapbooking. This type of
inkpad is especially helpful in conjunction with particular stamping
techniques. Two, which come to my mind, are watercoloring or
coloring in an outline type of image with
waterbased markers. Hence, you may see these labeled as a
"watercolor ink pad" or an "outliner" pad. In either case, an image
may be stamped down, allowed to dry, then may be worked over with
watercolors or waterbased markers to color in detail--without
smudging the originally stamped image. I find I only need one of
these watercolor-type pads myself, and it is the black one. Some
disclaimers: I have heard differing accounts of this type of ink
turning to an off-color when in contact with certain glossy papers,
or with cold laminate adhesive. Also, on some coated or glossy
papers, the waterproof ink doesn't seem to dry completely, even if
heated air is applied, and will smudge either when touched or in
contact with moisture, as from waterbased markers. Keep those things
in mind and experiment with paper types and adhesives used when
working with your waterproof inkpads, especially before replicating
an item in quantity. A final note...because of the dye-based
waterproof qualities of this type of ink, it is more difficult to
clean off of your stamps. A solvent based cleaner is needed to most
successfully remove this ink from the rubber. AND, although the ink
is "waterproof", it is NOT classified as permanent and is not
suitable for certain applications such as fabric stamping or
stamping on shrink plastic.
PIGMENT INK PADS
(Stampin’ Up!’s Craft Ink Pads, Colorbox, Brilliance, Inkcredible,
Encore and VersaMark are examples of this type of ink)
This type of ink is suitable in a variety of stamping situations.
Pigment ink is thicker than a water-based or dye-based ink and is
best distributed from a spongy pad. When pigment ink is stamped on a
surface, it does not soak in and stain, but rather dries on top of
that surface. If you stamp on regular non-coated paper with pigment
ink, it will take a little more time to dry than the previously
discussed inks, but the color will also remain on the surface,
appearing more vibrant. Some stampers like to use a heat gun to
thoroughly dry pigment ink stamped image on non-coated paper and
watercolor over that since it will not smear. On coated or glossy
paper, however, pigment ink does NOT dry. I don't know the precise
mechanics of this, but just remember that pigment ink, plus a glossy
or coated surface, equals ink that will never dry. "But what if you
wait overnight?" you ask..."What if I wait a month???"...you
inquire...forget it. Stampers have tried it. But here is the really
great side of this unique factor: if you have an ink that will
remain wet, you can apply special powders to the ink, which, when
heat activated will provide an adhesive and drying quality to the
ink--the most popular of these powders is embossing powder.
Embossing is so big it is a topic all its own...so let me know if
you need more information on that.
Rainbow pads are also available in pigment inks, and since the ink
is so thick, the colors will not mix and muddy when stored in
contact like the dye ink rainbow pads. There are even pigment
rainbow pads whose container is made so that each individual color
will actually snap out so that you may use it alone, or, you can
rearrange the colors in the container to represent a different
graduation of colors.
Because of the thickness of pigment
ink, it is a little bit more difficult to clean it off your stamps,
but it does come off with water. You may, however, want to use a
toothbrush or a stamp cleaning pad for ease in cleaning the
crevices.
EMBOSSING PADS
(Any pigment ink or embossing ink)
These pads are made like the pigment pads, but come in clear or
tinted (either faint blush or very pale blue) "ink". They are
obviously not used for their own color, but rather just provide that
wet base necessary for a medium such as embossing powder to adhere
to a surface. The tinted pads are more helpful than the clear pads
in seeing where your image has been stamped down. However, there are
some special techniques where the clear embossing pad is necessary
to create a certain look. If you want more information on these
techniques, let me know!
FABRIC & CRAFT INK PADS
(Stampin’ Up! Craft Inkpads, Fabrico & ColorBox
Crafters Ink are also used for fabrics and other mediums. Considered
pigment ink, some must be heat set to become permanent)
These are inks of a pigment ink consistency that may be used for the
same things pigment inkpads and embossing pads are used for, but
they have an added bonus. When heated, these inks become permanent.
This is especially useful for fabric and wood stamping. A special
feature you can take advantage of when fabric stamping with these
craft inks is that if you make a mistake you can't stand, you may
launder your item if it has not yet been heat set and that will
remove the ink!
PERMANENT
INKS
(These are solvent based inks and need a
special cleaner. Examples are Staz-On, Zim Ink, Décor-it, 123 Ink &
Feista. Permanent on wood, walls, plastic, shrink plastic, glass,
metal & paper)
These inks are
considered permanent once dry, and do not require a heat setting.
They will definitely stain your stamps, and can be hard to clean off
even with a solvent cleaner. I don't own any permanent inks myself
because of this hassle. Personally, the only technique I find may be
most easily accomplished with permanent ink is stamping on
Shrink
Plastic. However, I can work my way around well
enough with the crafter's ink pads that I don't bother.
WASHABLE INKS
(Stampin’ Up!’s
children’s pads are washable, so are the inks in the tattoo kits.
Most children’s inkpads are washable)
These are water-based inks used mainly in markers or stamp pads to
be used by children. While they may stain *some* fabrics and
surfaces, these inks are manufactured to wash off your children and
their clothes easily, and usually are non-toxic. For children's
greatest potential success in stamping, I suggest buying washable
inkpads that are raised. Young children especially become very
frustrated with small, enclosed inkpads while trying to ink up a
stamp. This raised type of washable "Kid's Pad" is available in the
same packaging as the dye ink pads I personally use for stamping,
and my kids are very fond of the variety of colors, as well as the
rainbow pads that these come in. One caveat to the washable inks is
that they do not seem to dry well on glossy or slick surfaces.
STORING INK PADS
I suggest storing your inkpads upside down so that when you want to
use them, the ink will have sunk to the top of the pad and you will
have a nice wet surface for inking up your stamp. Because of this
storage method, I index the bottom of my inkpads if the original
packaging has not done that already. I like to run out return
address size labels with the name of the color, and stamp a small
image in that color ink on another label to place below the name.
This way I can dig through my inkpads while they are upside down,
looking either by color name or the shade on the sticker to choose
the one I want to work with.
Some folks store their inkpads in a shoebox, some in plastic
containers or drawers--but a really neat idea is to store them on
the wall in a cassette tape storage unit. You can stamp a small dot
next to each inkpad's slot (with the eraser of a pencil) to show the
color and perhaps use a fine tip permanent marker to write the name
of the color on the side of the inkpad's case that faces out. This
will help free up your precious desk space for other stamping
supplies!
USING YOUR INK PADS
I bet you thought I'd never get to this part! Well, using the
inkpads is really the easiest part. First, always make sure your
stamp is clean before you ink it up or you may end up with a new
shade to an inkpad. It is also important to get any fuzz, fluff,
strings, glitter, etc. off the stamp, as these will ink up right
along with the rubber of your stamp and leave unsightly traces or
blank spots on your stamped image. To thoroughly ink up an image, I
first twist my stamp on my inkpad about 3 times, then tap my stamp
on the inkpad about 3 times. Then, LOOK at the rubber image. Even if
you are using a light shade of ink, you should still be able to see
the moisture of the ink covering the surface of the image. If the
image is not thoroughly inked, just repeat the twists and the taps
until it is. Place your inked stamp straight down on a piece of
paper, push down on the top of the stamp to ensure that all of the
rubber image has made contact with the paper, then lift straight up.
Remember to clean your stamp before inking it up in a new color.
Now, go stamp, scrap, alter & create up a storm!
More information about inks . . .
It seems to me there are more & more ink choices every day. Here
are some fabulous ink resources, manufacturers and tip sheets that I
have been collecting. Enjoy!
One of my favorite places to get
information on ANYTHING to do with rubber & ink is Tyra Smith’s
Cloud 9 site – you will definitely want to bookmark this site!
http://netnet.net/~cloud9/index.html
Here is some information about using
alcohol ink and chalk ink pads from the Blockheads site.
http://www.blockheadstamps.com/techniques.html
PATSTAMPS is literally chock FULL of
all kinds of information – she has an awesome site! Consider
signing up for her newsletter, I can speak from experience it is one
of the BEST resources out there!
http://www.patstamps.com/
There are a TON of tutorials on this
site. Not only cool stuff to do with inks, but cool stuff to do
with just about anything!
http://www.nuttnhoney.net/GreatTutorials.html
Here are some of the ink
manufacturers of the ink we all use:
http://www.clearsnap.com/site.html
http://www.rangerink.com/
http://www.stewartsuperior.com/html/about_inks.html
www.tsukineko.com |
