Question about inks

[pamcook]

I've been playing with some older hybrid and pigment ink pads. I realize that dye inks actually dye the paper. How long should it take for hybrid or pigment ink to dry? I don't get a crisp image. Should I not bother with buying them? I just bought a few colors from Altenew. They get fantastic reviews. Of course I'm tempted to use my 40% off coupons at Michaels but they never have dye inks - at least not in the colors I would use.

[pat-czap]

Not much help here... I don't use pigment ink very often anymore. It does take longer to dry, but you can heat set it to hurry the process.

Hybrid and distress inks are my go to ink. Both dry quickly in my opinion.

I have a boatload of CS ink pads, which are hybrid, I believe...and I reach for those often.

Chalk inks are nice as well.

I think it is a matter of preference, and the application you are looking for.

My 2 cents.

[nchoney]

I've got a variety of types of inkpads. I'll bring some to ReCreate and you can play.

Normally I use pigment inks for embossing. I do use the CD hybrid inkpads for much of my stamping.

[Monica]

It will also depend on the paper you're using. Pigment inks won't dry on a coated surface unless they are embossed, as there's nothing for the ink to soak into. The only pigment ink I've ever found will not dry when heat set is that funky silvery inkpad that came with an old CS kit. Varsity, I think. I tossed it.

[paddlegal]

Funny you should ask this today. Yesterday while at the Julie Ebersole class we used "Fresh Ink" pigment inks. LOVE them and bought 3 colors to try them out. I also have a set of 6 "My Favorite Things" pigment pads. They are ok but I notice that one of the colors is watery and doesn't cover well. But the Fresh Ink pads are juicy and very opaque. We used these inks exclusively for all color stamping which was on heavy 110 lb absorbent card stock or heavier. They dried fairly quickly but I also like using colored pigments for heat embossing.

[pbp908]

I don't get a really crisp image with TH ink. I generally use Versafine or Staz On for a crisp image.

[ChristyB]

Agree with Pam on Versafine or StazOn for a crisp image.

I have so many ink pads of different types that I never use. One day I should take them out and just play.

[paddlegal]

I like Versafine too for a sharp image. And one more reason I like pigment inks is for stamping on black or dark colored card stock.

[Keitha]

...I have so many ink pads of different types that I never use. One day I should take them out and just play.

Sadly I can relate to this. For some reason I thought I had to have all the colours of Stampin' Up! dye ink pads over the course of one year - and then immediately after that discovered and fell in love with Distress Inks, which are still my main go-to. I've also got a little bin full of cat's eyes, both chalk and pigment, and assorted Adirondack ink pads - not to mention a few StazOn and other assorted pads: VersaFine, etc. I'm the gal who doesn't make cards, remember. I think, instead of taking them out to play, I need to pull out all the ones that haven't seen the light of day in a year and test them - and then donate them all to the kids' school.

[pamcook]

Okay - so what am I doing wrong then? I feel like I'm inking up the stamp well enough but when I stamp the image, the impression is spotty - specifically solid stamps - as in the bottom layer of these layered flowers. Do I need to use a mousepad under my paper?

[nancine]

Pam - YES, a mouse pad or pile of newspapers might help a lot. Is it a red rubber stamp or polymer?
also I gotta say the MISTI is a wonderful tool for those solid stamps!!

Hybrid inks should dry fairly quickly and give a nice crisp image.
At least my CS ones do - which are made by Superior which I have some of theirs also and they all work great.

Pigment ink will dry very slow - and like Farley said must be embossed on glossy paper.

The Distress inks I don't find give nice crisp images, and work really poorly on the clear stamps compared to red rubber. So I don't always use them for actually stamping. But sometimes you want that look, or want to run over them with a damp paint brush to get a watercolor look.

I also haven't had such great luck with Hero Arts inks, although Jennifer McGuire raves about them. They look very blotchy when stamped and she says they smooth out as they dry and are absorbed by the paper but I have found with the 2-3 I have they still look blotchy.

Farley - is the Fresh Ink the Impress Stamps brand?

I've had good luck with Simon Says Stamps dye ink.
Look at the "packaging" - what the case they are in looks like.
Many stamp companies get their ink pads made by another company - and just their logos etc. on the cover.
Jennifer has liked Stephanie Barnard's The stamps of Life pads along with My Favorite Things - and I think their cases are the same.

[pamcook]

Hm. Okay. I would love a MISTI and am trying to justify the cost. Stamping for me, is usually just a quickly-passing faze.
I'm going to try the mousepad. I've tried Distress, Adirondack, ColorBok, and My Favorite Things with the same results which has led me to believe it's the technique (polymer stamps). I should try with a rubber stamp just to see what happens. I expected the pigment/hybrid inks to "fill in" like Jennifer McGuire suggests, but that didn't happen.

[ScrappinJen]

I love my inks from Stephanie and MFT. I think Clearsnap makes them. Juicy dye ink foam pads. I don't like the texture in cloth pads.

[paddlegal]

Pam, solid stamp images, whether clear or rubber, are a bit of a challenge to stamp and get the solid color we expect. Yes, as Nancy says, do use a foam pad of some kind under your card stock plus be sure to be stamping on a hard solid surface. Often some of those portable plastic tables (if that's what you might be using) give with the pressure and you won't get a clean image.

Nancy, yes...Fresh Ink is Impress. I'm really happy with these over the MFT pigment pad.

[nancine]

just remembered this trick with polymer stamps:

When you press it down onto the paper give it a few seconds to let the ink "soak in"
it's really helped me , especially with the newer polymer stamps.