Stamping ink

Stamping ink comes in a few different forms, both in terms of the ink itself, the base of the ink, and the type of ink pad. Aside from stamping with stamps, most ink can also be used for techniques. Below are the most common properties of the different inks listed, but keep in mind that there are variations and combinations of ink types too.

Using an ink pad

When stamping, either tap your ink pad onto the stamp's surface, or take the stamp and tap it onto the ink pad. Make sure you don't press too hard to prevent ink from getting into the crevices and blurring your image.

Re-inking

Most stamping ink can also be bought in small bottles, so-called re-inkers.

Storage

It's not necessary to store ink pads upside-down. The easiest (and safest to prevent a mess) is to simply store the ink pad right side up. Don't store them sideways, as the ink might get distributed unevenly in the ink pad.

Dye vs. pigment

Dye ink

Dye ink is a fast-drying ink and is comparable to ink in a fountain pen. It's see-through (not opaque), which means it won't be visible on black paper, there is no such thing as white dye ink (that would just be water), and if you were to stamp in a yellow dye ink on (light) blue paper, the result would be a green image, since the ink soaks into the paper.

When you stamp with dye ink, you don't fully saturate the paper with ink. This means that every time you stamp in the same spot (with a stamp positioner, for example), your image will get a bit darker.

Dye ink needs a little bit of time to settle into the paper, so after a few minutes, the stamped image might look a bit smoother (less blotched) and lighter in color.

Most dye ink is water-based, which means you can use it to watercolor with, but coloring an image stamped with dye ink with a watercolor medium will smear the stamped image.

Note that some dye inks are not made to stamp, but rather for techniques. This ink is often called water-reactive, even though all dye inks will react with water, albeit more subtly.

Pigment ink

Pigment ink resembles the paint you would put on your wall. It's opaque (not see-through), which means you can stamp on dark or black paper. If you were to stamp in a yellow pigment ink on (light) blue paper, the result would be a yellow image, since the pigment ink lies on top of the paper.

When you stamp with a pigment ink, the result will be the true color of the ink pad (assuming your ink pad is saturated with ink).

Pigment ink is slow-drying, which means it's easy to use with heat embossing. If you stamp on paper that has a relatively smooth surface, you might have to heat-set your ink with a heat gun in order for the ink to fully dry.

Some pigment ink has a chalky, ultra-matte finish. This ink is called "chalk ink" but behaves the same as other pigment inks.

Bases

Inks can be made with different bases: water, oil, or solvent.

• Water-based: is easy to clean up with just water, can be used to watercolor with, or for techniques, …
• Oil-based: is usually water-resistant wich means it can be used to stamp an image you want to color in with a water-based medium. These inks tend to produce very crisp images, which means they're very suited to stamp text or very detailed images. They also dry a bit slower than dye ink, which means you can use them for heat embossing.
• Solvent-based: the solvent used is often alcohol. This ink is very well suited to stamp on slick surfaces such as glossy paper, acetate, vellum, … Since these inks contain a volatile solvent, the ink pad also dries out very quickly. They usually come with an extra protective piece of plastic, but a reinker is often a necessity.

The most important thing to note is that the base of the ink and the medium you want to add to the stamped image should be different.

For example, if you want to color in an image with watercolor paints or a water-based marker, you should not stamp with a water-based ink. Likewise, if you want to use alcohol markers to color in an image, don't use a solvent-based ink.

Hybrid

Some inks are called "hybrid", "fusion", or "amalgam", which means they combine either multiple bases or multiple types of inks.

Some of these inks are formulated to work with both water-based and alcohol-based coloring mediums.

Archival

When an ink is marked as being archival, it means the colors will not fade over time. Most archival inks are also waterproof.

Well-liked inks for specific purposes

These inks are generally recommended by crafters and experts, but results may vary based on a number of other factors (paper used, humidity, experience, new or old products, …).

• Technique inks
  • Tim Holtz Distress (dye)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Oxide (dye + pigment)
• Oil-based pigment ink for crisp images and text
  • VersaFine and VersaFine Clair
• To combine with alcohol markers
  • Tsukineko Memento
  • Gina K. Designs Amalgam Ink (for coloring with water-based mediums as well)
• Solvent-based ink to stamp on porous surfaces such as acetate, glossy or metallic paper, …
  • Tsukineko StazOn
• Gold pigment inks with a subtle shimmer
  • Altenew Gold Pigment Ink
  • Tsukineko Brilliance
• Generic dye inks for stamping and ink blending
  • Altenew
  • Gina K. Designs
  • Hero Arts
  • Catherine Pooler
  • Pinkfresh Studio
  • Concord & 9th

Special ink

• White ink: different kinds of white inks
• Transparent ink or embossing ink: what you can do with transparent ink