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taunia1

Guide To Ink Pads

taunia1
21 years ago

I thought this was great; thanks again to Barbie Boop.

Guide To Ink Pads

It can be a bit of a minefield when it comes to the many different

ink pads available. Each one is designed for a specific use. For a

beginner this can be quite daunting. Here we explain each type.

PIGMENT INK PADS

Pigment ink pads are probably the most favourite type of ink pad

every stamper has in their craft box. Pigment pads are made of a high

density raised foam pad. Use them to ink any size of rubberstamp; if

the stamp doesn't fit on the pad, ink the stamp by pressing the pad

onto it.

The most commonly used pigment pads are the economical INK CUBES.

These cubes are 1" square and can ink both large and small stampers.

Pigment ink is a very slow drying ink which is best used for

embossing with (see "how to rubberstamp emboss") You can use it

without embossing but you must use non glossy paper so that it will

dry, drying time can take up to a day but you can actually speed this

up by applying to a heat source. If you plan to stamp on a glossy

type of card you must emboss as the ink will NEVER dry otherwise.

However once you have embossed the image is waterproof thus enabling

you to add watercolours or even brushmarkers to hi-light your work.

The advantages of pigment pads is that they are available in

virtually every colour of the rainbow. Most importantly in METALLIC

colours, no other ink pad is available in metallic colours (yet!) The

larger pigment ink pads are also available in what is known as

RAINBOW PADS, these pads consist from 3 to 10 colours on one ink pad.

More and more combinations are being developed all the time. If you

would like to stamp with a metallic pigment pad but don't want to

wait for it to dry, check out the new range of ENCORE pads available

on the craft market, these single colour metallic and rainbow

metallic pads promise to take virtually no drying time at all.

DYE BASED INK PADS

Dye based ink pads are perfect for glossy papers and card, this type

of paper literally makes the colours of the dye based pads come

alive. Dye based pads are typically made of a compressed fabric and

their surface is raised to enable you to ink any size of stamp. These

are also available in 1" cubes as well as the larger size.

Dye based pads are generally not waterproof which means you can't add

colour from a wet source; for example watercolours or brush markers

as the ink would smudge. That is true of most dye based ink pads with

the exception of the MEMORIES range. These are designed for water

colouring with. Dye based ink pads come in all colours including

rainbow. One particular range of dye based rainbow pads is the

KALIEDACOLOUR brand name, these consist of a snap together palette of

colours which you separate when not in use to prevent them from

bleeding in to each other. Allow dye based inks to dry before adding

colour to them as the ink pads can smudge, again this can be speeded

up by the use of a heat source.

FABRICO INK PADS

Fabrico ink pads were originally intended to stamp onto fabric. You

can also use to stamp upon wood, glass, acetate and shrink plastic.

Simply apply to a heat source to make permanent when you have

stamped. Like pigment pads, fabrico are of a compressed foam texture

which is raised to allow you to ink up any size of stamp. Available

in both 1" cubes and larger sizes. Check out the lovely range of

rainbow ink pads.

PERMANENT INK PADS

As their description suggests permanent ink pads are for stamping

when it needs to be permanent. Use to stamp on shrink plastic, wood,

even glass. As a rule permanent ink pads tend to dry out very

quickly, bearing this in mind it is best to purchase a dry uninked

pad and a bottle of permanent ink. Ink up the pad a little every time

you wish to use it. Only available in black, and to be honest with

the invention of fabrico ink pads these permanent ink pads are

becoming less popular.

EMBOSSING INK PADS

A lightly tinted ink pad which is especially used for embossing with.

The ink dries clear, the main advantage of using an embossing pad is

if you wish to add a clear shiny embossed stamped image to your paper

or card with either clear or glitter embossing powders. The majority

of stampers today tend to use pigment pads for embossing with rather

than embossing pads. We tell you how to emboss further on.

What Color Ink Pads Should I get?

If after that low down on ink pads you are still none the wiser about

which ink pad to choose, check out our guide for recommended basic

beginners color choices:

Pigment Ink Pad Colors: GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, WHITE & BLACK. Plus

multicolour pads.

Dye Based Ink Pad Colors: BLACK Memories pad plus assorted rainbow

pads.

Fabrico Ink Pad Colors: Black and rainbow pads.

Once you have these basic colors you can collect lots of other

colours to suit your stamping themes.

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