There are so many different inks out there! Dye, water based dye, pigment, craft, alcohol, ones that smooth out, ones that are best for blending, ones that react with water, the list goes on and on and on!
As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I only use Stampin’ Up! inks these days, but I have used others in the past, and do still reach for them on occasion. But I truly believe for a great all round ink, that’s great for beginner stampers, you cannot beat Stampin’ Up! inks!
Ok, so; there are several different inks in the catalogue. I’ll start with our Classic Inks. Available in Stampin’ pads, as refils, or in Stampin’ Write Markers, the classic ink is a great all round ink. It stamps wonderfully, often a little darker and splotchy at first but it smooths as it dries leaving a perfect crisp image every time! And if you think that is all Stampin’ Up! ink is good for, you are about to learn something! I use our Classic ink for water-colouring, adding some ink onto a clear acrylic block and adding water before using a paintbrush to colour my image. It’s also reactive to water, meaning that you can splatter water onto a project (before it’s completely dry works best) to bleach away some of the colour. It blends beautifully with sponge daubers or a blending tool. And it comes in 46 different colours!
Currently we don’t have a black Classic Ink (I am assured it will return, but it needed re-formulating to make it even better!), but we do have two great black options!
Memento Tuxedo Black is my go-to black ink, and I am so pleased Stampin’ Up! have continued to carry it. I have loved this ink for years! I can guarantee a clean crisp true black image with this ink, and it is safe to use with your Alcohol markers too. The Other option for Black ink is Stazon. Stazon is an alcohol based ink, great for stamping on slick surfaces like Window Sheets or tiles, but its also waterproof, and so great for stamping your images before you watercolour. One thing to be aware of with Stazon though is that it will stain your stamps, special Stazon cleaner is recommended, and I prefer to avoid using it at all with my photopolymer stamps (but sometimes it can’t be avoided!). Stazon is also available as a white ink, which comes with its refill as it is known to dry out quickly.
White ink is also available as a pigment ink; Craft Stanpin’ Ink, is a permanent pigment ink. This is a great white ink, but it takes a while to dry. You can speed up the drying process with your heat tool, you add embossing powder to set it. Craft ink looks awesome on dark card stocks such as Night of Navy or Basic Black.
The final ink I’m going to talk about in Versamark. I love this ink! Versamark is my first choice for stamping and heat embossing, it is a clear sticky ink that holds your embossing powered to the card stock while you heat set it. It is the best! Versamark is also great for creating a tone-on-tone stamped look, or watermark effects.
What’s you favourite ink?
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Hannah Wilks
Stampin’ Up! UK Independent Demonstrator
