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Ok...I have been a die-hard SU exclusive buyer for years...and just last week bought my 2nd ever non-SU stamps. I got clear Inkadinkado sets...and I LOVE using them! I am now interested in some of the other major companies out there and started looking at the CTMH website...there are some colors I just love!! I am wondering about the CS and Ink quality vs SU??
I know there has to be a number of you with both SU & CTMH (even Papertrey...etc)...are you happy with your collection or is it overwhelming to have multiple brands of CS and Ink...etc??
Thanks!!
__________________ Cher No longer stamping...on to bigger things.
I have lots of SU stuff, but I just signed on with CTMH. I love the quality of their clear stamps. I am also happy with the quality of their stamp pads and markers. The SU stamp pads I bought turned out to be wavy. The CTMH pads are nice and flat and juicy. I get a perfect image with them.
I am thinking about getting rid of my SU classic pads and getting CTMH. I am going to keep my SU craft to use with SU paper, but I don't have room to have them all.
I love SU paper and CTMH. They are very different. Both work well for cards, but CTMH is better if you want to distress or dry emboss. I like how the white peeks through on the CTMH paper. I think there is room for both companies. You might want to consider joining CTMH. I plan on being a jr consultant. You only get a 10% discount as a jr consultant, but you only have to buy $1 a year to stay a jr. consultant. I figure I can buy what I want from CTMH and have $ to spend with other companies.
I have felt slightly limited with a few colors lately...so this sounds like it would be a great way to still be all matchy-matchy if I expand!
Yes CMTH is white core, which I personally didn't like. When I used my cuttlebug embossing folders, it pushed the white thru so I got this funky looking image with blue and white.
I will admit to being a SU ink and paper user for over 10 years. I love having everything match including the designer paper and the ribbon. But I won't talk someone into something they don't love for themselves.
Location: I'm in the secret sister protection program.
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The white core is nice, if you want that look when Cuttlebugging. If you want it more clean looking, SU is the way to go. CTMH is easier to make look distressed. I love Cuttlebugging CTMH stuff, then sanding, it looks really cool!
I have not yet ventured into their ink colors, but have some of their CS. I can hardly handle the inks I have! LOL
I like CTMH's cardstock better, but SU's patterned paper better. I use the best of both worlds. I've found that most of their colors complement each other (or almost match), so sometimes I can use my CTMH ink with both companies.
I think the ink is very similar. I really don't have a preference on ink pads. I buy the colors I like from either company.
I don't find using both companies overwhelming at all.
Most of it really comes down to personal preference and what you will be making.
I received my first set of Papertrey stamps about a week or 2 ago and I just love them. They came pkged so nicely and really had that "personal" feel to it. Not to mention how well-made the stamps are. The acrylic is what I purchased and look forward to purchasing some in the future. :p I too love my Inkadinkado stamps as well.
I've bought many stamp sets and dp from ctmh but have never ventutred into their cardstock and ink. I've always wanted to but with owning all su products I have held back. I should probably not be reading all these responses because it is making me want to try some...
It all depends on the look you are going for. With the white core you can tear and have the white show (which I like). You can also sand and distress it so the white shows through a bit. Sometimes I will cuttlebug and then sand to really make the cuttlebugged part to show even more. But if you don't want the white to show at all...then SU CS is better.
Location: Virginia, where we have the beach and mountains all in one state!!
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All of my inks are CTMH, but I love SU paper only because of the solid core. I don't mind a white core but only when I specifically want it. My inks work well with both clear and rubber stamps.
Paper......I like CTMH for scrapbooking, it's a little lighter in weight. But when it comes to cards, for the most part, I like a solid core so therefore I reach for SU paper. Even their DS papers (which I love) is heaver in weight.
Good luck
You can't go wrong with both products, they are excellent!!
I do try to keep mine separate. I love the white core of CTMH and they seem to be big on distressing. CTMH is way better if you are into scrapbooking. I plan to use both, but am concentrating on CTMH ink now that I got the really "must-have" stamps from SU. I've not been really happy about how the SU ink pads seem to cave-in.
Location: Just west of Spokane, WA, on the rim of a lake with a beautiful view
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The one thing I've noticed is the CTMH stamp pads are a whole lot easier to open and close then SU, at least with the CTMH ones you don't get ink all over your hand.
The one thing I've noticed is the CTMH stamp pads are a whole lot easier to open and close then SU, at least with the CTMH ones you don't get ink all over your hand.
I had one of the new style CTMH inks and found what you said to be true. I ended up giving that inkpad to my mother because she needed that color. I'd like to get more new style CTMH inkpads.
I like the quality of CTMH's acrylic stamps, andd I like being able to see exactly where the stamp is going without having to use a stamp-a-ma-jig.
That said, I am a SU! demo mostly because I like SU's images better.
I am a CTMH demonstrator but I too like SU product! I love CTMH's white core and ink pads especially and of course the storage for the clear stamps (hardly any room) I do like the SU punches in fact I love 'em....they are great! Hope this helps. If you have any other questions just ask
__________________ ...~...Gretchen...~...
"Some people are like slinkys...they're really good for nothing, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs!"
I found this chart online, and copied it, it is NOT mine, but it does look like it would help compare colors.
CTMH vs SU colors
Spring - Harmony
Amethyst ���Lavender Lace
Baby Pink ���Pretty in Pink / Blush Blossom
Heavenly Blue �Bliss Blue / Soft Sky
Key Lime ���Gable Green
Sunkiss Yellow �Barely Banana
Taffy �����Apricot Appeal / So Saffron
Spring - Blossom
Breeze ����-Tempting Turquoise
Kiwi ?
Lilac Mist ���-Almost Amethyst
Orchid Bouquet �Pixie Pink
Pink Carnation �Rose Romance
Spring Iris ���Lovely Lilac / Bordering Blue
Summer ����Carnival
Clover Meadow �Green Galore
Holiday Red ��-Real Red
Hydrangea ���Lovely Lilac
Orange ����Only Orange
Star Spangled Blue - Brilliant Blue
Sunny Yellow ��Yo Yo Yellow
Summer � Celebration
Bubblegum ���Positively Pink
Citrus Leaf ���Gable Green
Dutch Blue ���Ballet Blue
Ocean ����-Tempting Turquoise / Taken with Teal
Topiary ����Garden Green
Watermelon ��-Pink Passion
Autumn � Harvest
Autumn Terracotta - Really Rust
Barn Red ����Ruby Red
New England Ivy � Always Artichoke
Outdoor Denim ��Not Quite Navy / Night of Navy
Pansy Purple ���Eggplant Envy
Sunflower ����Summer Sun
Autumn � Garden
Garden Green ��Mellow Moss
Goldrush ����More Mustard
Hollyhock ����Rose Romance
Indian Corn Blue �Ballet Blue
Olive �����-Old Olive
Vineyard Berry ��Purely Pomegranate
Winter � Classic
Buttercup ����Barely Banana
Cranberry ���-Rose Red
Garnet �����Baroque Burgundy
Moonstruck ���Brilliant blue
Ponderosa Pine �-Forest Foliage / Handsome Hunter
Smokey Plum ��Perfect plum
Winter � Cozy
Blush �����-Pretty in pink / Regal Rose
Crystal Blue ���Brocade blue / Bashful Blue
Honey�����-Summer Sun
Sweet Leaf ���-Gable green / Certainly Celery
Twilight�����Blue Bayou
Petal������Pale Plum
Basic � Antique
Bamboo �����River Rock
Black ������Basic black
Desert Sand ���Creamy Caramel
Gray Flannel ���Sahara Sand
Grey Wool ����Going grey / Basic Gray
White Daisy ���-Whisper White
Basic � Timeless
Brown Bag
Chocolate����-Close to Cocoa
Cocoa �����-Chocolate chip
Colonial White ��-Very Vanilla
Parchment ����Barely Banana
Vanilla Cream ��-Very Vanilla
Yes CMTH is white core, which I personally didn't like. When I used my cuttlebug embossing folders, it pushed the white thru so I got this funky looking image with blue and white.
To help keep the white core from showing through when embossing CTMH paper with the Cuttlebug, sandwich your cardstock between two pieces of printer paper.
Are the ctmh colors different enough from su to justify having both?
Yes!
My short story is I bought a bunch of SU inks on ebay and then fell in love with CTMH as a company because of their layout book (Imagine and Cherish) taking the anxiety out of scrapbooking so I joined as a consultant but my business never really took off so Im pretty much out of it now but I will always be a customer and have all their ink pads.
I thought I'd be able to pick 'sides' with the ink pads but I like both. I couldnt say one's better than the other theyre both just different. I do have to give kudos to the CTMH ink pad cuz I love the way it closes and sticks up out of the holder, my SU ones seem to dip into the middle a little and thats annoying as sometimes its hard to ink the middle of a stamp. I also love that the CTMH reinker is huge (but then its also 4.25 not 2.50).
Im in a every other month SU club and I've started buying the inks and papers again so I've spend ALOT of time looking over the colors so that I dont waste money buying the same colors and I can honestly say theres only about 10-12 colors I feel are the same. Please note Ive mainly compared cardstock swatches of both since I dont have the SU inks right now (but had them in the past). I do not have the new CTMH colors as of this fall catalog so I havent seen those in person yet.
Ok heres the CTMH color and the color I think matches SU
Baby pink // Pink Pirouette
Spring Iris // ?Ballet Blue
Orange // Only Orange
Star Spangled Blue // ?Brilliant Blue
Sunny Yellow // Yo Yo Yellow
Dutch Blue // ?Pacific Point
Watermelon // ?Pink Passion
New England Ivy // ?Garden Green
Outdoor denim // Night of Navy
Pansy Purple // Elegant Eggplant
Goldrush // More Mustard
Olive // Old Olive
Garnet // Bravo Burgandy
Moonstruck // ?Brilliant Blue
Ponderosa Pine // Handsome Hunter
Smokey Plum //Perfect Plum
Blush // Pretty in pink
Petal // Orchid opulence
Sweet Leaf // Certainly Celery
One thing Ive been especially pleased with is the yellows with the exception of buttercup show up nice and yellow and dont seem to fade over time. Even the lighter colors seem to 'keep'
Hollyhock is one of my all time favorites.
Last edited by Erinlyn80; 09-24-2008 at 06:53 PM..
Reason: Ease of reading
WHOOPS! I guess I shouldve read the whole thread before I posted, i see someone posted something similar above. Although I dont agree with alot of those matchings. Some of those are the CTMH color and then the SU color closest to it. The browns are certainly COMPLETELY different.
Oh and if anyone out there wants a Cardstock sample ring of all the CTMH colors they only cost consultants 4.00 plus S&H. They also have WONDERFUL b&t samplers that have 6x6 square samples of the 6 newest papers for that catalog for 1.95, I couldnt believe it yes 1.95 thats a lot of paper for a 'sample'. Kudos to CTMH for doing that for consultants. I had to order a SU cardstock sample ring off ebay.
If needed I could order either for someone but I wasnt going to place an order for like a month so it wouldnt be very speedy. PM me if you dont mind waiting.
I buy both, but I tend to lean towards CTMH. At least for the time being... If I like an image, I buy it regardless of who makes it. Know what I mean? I think it would probably be much more economical to stick to just one manufacturer, but where's the fun in that? LOL
I don't own any SU inks because I have all the CTMH ink pads, but I do have trouble opening and closing the ink pads at my SU demo's house.
I have lots of SU stuff, but I just signed on with CTMH. I love the quality of their clear stamps. I am also happy with the quality of their stamp pads and markers. The SU stamp pads I bought turned out to be wavy. The CTMH pads are nice and flat and juicy. I get a perfect image with them.
I am thinking about getting rid of my SU classic pads and getting CTMH. I am going to keep my SU craft to use with SU paper, but I don't have room to have them all.
I love SU paper and CTMH. They are very different. Both work well for cards, but CTMH is better if you want to distress or dry emboss. I like how the white peeks through on the CTMH paper. I think there is room for both companies. You might want to consider joining CTMH. I plan on being a jr consultant. You only get a 10% discount as a jr consultant, but you only have to buy $1 a year to stay a jr. consultant. I figure I can buy what I want from CTMH and have $ to spend with other companies.
I hope you reported those pads to SU. I have had their pads for over 12 years and still use them. No problems.
__________________ Carol "Poota" in IN Proud Fan Club Member A Kota's Kid
I love the look of the new CTMH stamps. When they went Acrylic I was in heaven... but I like SU designs better... so I haven't bought any CTMH in a while. If I see a CTMH stamp set that I adore, I buy it because they come few and far between for me. I love the papers though. Haven't used the ink since they revamped their ink pads. I DO however have an old one that I didn't take care of... nor did I store it properly and it still works just as good as the day I bought it. I LOVE that fact. Some SU pads I have are not as good...even with reinker. That being said, if I was a millionaire I'd be a demo for both because I love both products... I'd probably also try to be one for everyone else too.. I can't help it.. I LOVE STAMPS! lol
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I own about 20 CTMH stamp sets, but I am exclusively with SU as far as paper and ink goes. I love the quality, and it doesn't make sense to me to buy other paper and stamp sets from a different company as I am an SU demo. Even then I still personally love SU for paper and ink. I also favor the SU stamps as they are most my style. I do own about 50 stamp sets from other online stamp companies as they do have stuff SU doesn't have anything close to as far as images are concerned. I don't have a problem branching out with stamp stuff, but the majority of my supplies are SU.
I like both for different reasons. But overall, SU is more my current style. So I'll be a demo for them next week. But I'll still buy things I like from CTMH. I love their coordinating DP and embellishment packages. And the stamps work very well for me too. I love the Girl Scout set I just got during their last sale.
I buy what I like from whomever I like. And I'll continue to do the same. Fortunately for me, most of what I currently like is SU!
I really like CTMH designer papers and recently I found myself "rediscovering" CTMH markers that I've had for some time. I do not like SU markers at all! They dry up SO quickly. Heck the CTMH markers I have had for at least 5 years and they are still juicy.
I've weaned myself off of SU stamps, or should I say SU's price increase weaned me off. I do favor CTMH (and other acrylic companies) for my alphabet and sentiment stamps becuase you can manipulate the acrylic to be wavey or circular etc. and I like that alternative.
For my stamps I have found The Angel Company and I really like them. I find I get the rubber quality of SU but at a MUCH more reasonable price. I store my TAC stamps in a CD and they are cling mounted for easy "see what your doing" placement. I'm not a brand loyalist and still often purchase from many of the other member companies here on SCS along with my TAC.
As far as ink goes I have every color SU mades and the reinkers so I'm not inclined to switch BUT...with that being said I think the quality of SU inks as far as the pads goes,that other posters were referring to, is right on the mark. Their ink pads do drop in the middle and I find the inside of the case tends to puddle ink. I also often find myself having a heck of a time getting them closed without making a mess. It seems the "hinge" part gets stuck and it's a hassle. I have not ventured into CTMH ink since they came out with the new style years ago. The Angel Company offers Palette inks and though they are high quality, and can be bought anywhere (not exclusive to TAC), I'm not inclined to reinvest in all new inks.
When I signed up with CTMH I got rid of all my SU ink pads, they bowed in the middle and I never got a good impression with them, plus like others have mention CTMH pads are *so* much easier to open.
Something else I don't think anyone mentioned is that CTMH ink are formulated especially for clear stamps (any clear stamps, not just their own) and they really do work better on clear stamps then any other ink I've tried and on alot of different brands of clear stamps too.
No stamp company can offer every stamp in every theme for every different stamper's taste. It's OK to shop around. I am an SU demo because I love their stamps and inks and colors. I buy CTMH stamps and a few accessories now and then when a set grabs me that SU! doesn't offer. I have a bit of CTMH heart patterned paper as I like the funkier designs but I will forever be loyal to SU! cardstock. I'm not completely sold on the unmounted acrylic system as I am a die hard wood/rubber gal but both kinds have their pros & cons. Happy Stampin'
Mary Beth
Even though i'm a demo for SU! I also like CTMH. I love the cardstock and ink of SU! and I also love the patterened papers of CTMH. I buy stamps from both companies and other companies as well. I think that every company has unique qualities that you shouldn't limit yourself. Go with what you love and you won't be disappointed. Have fun shopping around
The one thing I've noticed is the CTMH stamp pads are a whole lot easier to open and close then SU, at least with the CTMH ones you don't get ink all over your hand.
cjbapp,
no ctmh demos can not place things on ebay
__________________ ...~...Gretchen...~...
"Some people are like slinkys...they're really good for nothing, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs!"
I find that the CTMH cardstock is thinner than SU cardstock, so I prefer SU for cards but love CTMH for scrapbooking. If you have CTMH stamps, I HIGHLY recommend CTMH ink as they work the best with the acrylic stamps. I didn't think this would be an issue until I bought a couple darker colors and really found that they stamped much better using the CTMH ink. I also love CTMH patterned paper - I love the color combinations and the fact the level II kits come with various pp as well as matching cardstock. They are definitely more geared to scrapbookers with these kits.
Well I must say after being a SU demontrator since 95 I just went CTMH. yup thats right CTMH I love their paper kits. the ink is different and I love the white core. if you dont want the white core and you punch out images, simply sponge with the ink pad and you have no white
I love that clumsy me knows exactly where I'm stamping. the commission is better than SU and I have found that I do not have to work as hard. The catalog ideas are grea but if you are looking at their catalog for the first time, the images are shown at 50% so they look totally different.
I absolutely love the storage and the fact that everything is so compact.
Their paper kits allow those new scrappers a chance to create gorgeous pages since we have pre designed pages and for those pros' we offer the paper packs plain. The accents and stamps are great and so much fun.
The alphabet sets are great to peel each letter, apply to your block ink and stamp exactly the way you want them.
Stampin' Up vs Close to my Heart
