Inks and Ink Pads

Good evening

Today I am not too well – seems I have caught the dreaded cold thatis doing its rounds – its very rare I suffer a cold but when I do I know about it! So I have spent most of the afternoon and evening laid asleep on the settee – and of course I had or grandson Layton last night and he has a shocking cold so slept very little!

So I am not sharing a card with you – instead I thought you might enjoy this explanation of inks and ink pads – I know I am confused by which does what and can I use this pad to stamp on that...

I really hope you will find it useful – I do!!!

Ink Pads And Inks Explained!

Ink Pads and Inks used in card making come in all shapes and sizes. Different types of inks do different jobs. If you don't choose the right ink for your rubber stamping project you may be very disappointed with the results.

Most ink pads have a raised sponge or felt pad soaked in the colour of the ink.

Some come in a single colour whilst others are multi-coloured.

There are 8 main types of ink:

Permanent or Solvent Ink:

As the name suggests this is a permanent ink. It is fast drying and dries almost instantly on most surfaces. It can be used on card, paper, acetate, shrink plastic, glass, foil, acrylic, metal and leather.

You will need a solvent cleaner to clean any rubber stamps which have been used with Permanent Ink.

The most well known product is StazOn, and the cleaner is StazOn Cleaner.

Because this is a solvent ink it will not bleed if you are using water based paints or crayons to colour in your images.

Dye-Based Ink:

These inks are water based and are not permanent. They also dry quickly and can be stamped on most types of paper but they do work especially well on glossy paper.

Pigment Ink:

There is a massive selection of colours in pigment inks. Certain brands dry fast but most are slow drying. They come in a range of finishes, including pearlescent, metallic and chalk. Examples of Pigment Inks are Versa-Color Ink Cubes or Versa-Magic Chalk Inks.

Embossing Ink:

These are usually slow drying inks which are clear or slightly tinted ( so that you can see where you have stamped!). They are to be used together with Embossing Powders.

Resist Ink:

As the name suggests these inks "resist" water based inks on glossy paper. It can create a watermark effect on your paper, and this can be used for adding detail to backgrounds. An example of this ink is Versamark. As this ink is very slow drying it can also be used with Embossing Powders.

Fabric or Craft Ink

are mainly used on fabric, but they will work on Shrink Plastic. These inks are not normally used by card makers.

Alcohol Inks:

These are dye based multi surface inks which come in small bottles. The different colours can be mixed together with a blending solution to create abstract backgrounds. They tend to work best on shiny paper.

Remember be adventurous with your card making and try different things!