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Okay, after stamping a dozen cards yesterday with my SU Whisper White craft ink, I decided i NEED to move on and get a different brand of white (NOT Staz-On). I was not getting clear images, and the ink was smearing, even after 4 hours of drying time and/or heat setting. Plus, heat setting the ink made it fade so it was barely visible.
So. What ink do I use to get a crisp, clear, WHITE, DRY image? I heard good things about Palette ink - is this a good choice?
Also, where can I get these inks in Canada - online or elsewhere? I'm in Alberta, and *would* order from PTI, but the shipping is ridiculous and I'm broke!
TIA!
__________________ -Shelby- I can, I will, I DO. -Verna C. Powers Okay, I haven't yet, but I still can, right??
Colorbox Frost White (although I also love Brilliance Moonlight White). I've also heard great things about Palette Inks but I only have one pad (and it got "lost" in my stash before I even had a chance to use it - I think it's a light tan color called canvas. I'm sure they have white shades. The Angel Company/TAC sells them but I don't know if they have Angels/Demonstrators in Canada.)
Look up the Elzybells site (in the UK). They just introduced a white ink for paper that really looks white and another white that can be used on acetate etc. I was going to get both in my next order. They ship fast and are great to deal with. There is a comparison on the blog.
Last edited by emeraldmj; 11-15-2009 at 08:57 AM..
So are both of these very opaque on dark surfaces, and quick drying?
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeGeeDee
Colorbox Frost White (although I also love Brilliance Moonlight White). I've also heard great things about Palette Inks but I only have one pad (and it got "lost" in my stash before I even had a chance to use it - I think it's a light tan color called canvas. I'm sure they have white shades. The Angel Company/TAC sells them but I don't know if they have Angels/Demonstrators in Canada.)
__________________ -Shelby- I can, I will, I DO. -Verna C. Powers Okay, I haven't yet, but I still can, right??
So are both of these very opaque on dark surfaces, and quick drying?
Thanks!
Both (Colorbox Frost White, and Brilliance Moonlight White) are my preferred for high contrast white on dark card stock, however, they are not quick drying; they are pigment inks and must be heat set or thermal embossed, if you're in a hurry.
Jennifer McGuire, of Hero Arts, has mentioned how much she likes working with Memories White, on dark and kraft card stocks. It's made by Stewart Superior. I haven't had an opportunity to buy and test that one myself, and do not know if it has fast drying properties.
Some have mentioned they like a well-inked Staz-On Cotton White (which is actually designed for use on non-porous surfaces). I personally find it, and Palette Canvas White too pale on dark card stocks for my preferences, and I work a lot with white core paper (as opposed to dyed), so they tend to show up even less on white core paper.
Versamagic Cloud White does not show up very well either, IMHO, on darker card stocks, whether dyed or white core.
HTH,
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I say Brilliance moonlight white or even the brilliance platinum "reads" as white on many dark papers. I haven't had any trouble with dry time.
There is also a new adirondack white pad. anybody tried that one?
Thanks for all the great info, Julie! Sounds like there's no perfect ink pad for me. I hate coming up against those situations - it seems like with all the stuff we have these days, we should be able to get whatever we want!! ;)
__________________ -Shelby- I can, I will, I DO. -Verna C. Powers Okay, I haven't yet, but I still can, right??
Look up the Elzybells site (in the UK). They just introduced a white ink for paper that really looks white and another white that can be used on acetate etc. I was going to get both in my next order. They ship fast and are great to deal with. There is a comparison on the blog.
I checked out the Elzybells site, and while the pigment ink looks WONDERFULLY white, I really don't want pigment ink as it takes soooooo long to dry. They didn't actually show any pictures of how the hybrid ink shows up on cardstock - just acetate. Still, I'd be very interested to see how it turns out - maybe you could pm me or something when you get it?
__________________ -Shelby- I can, I will, I DO. -Verna C. Powers Okay, I haven't yet, but I still can, right??
So are both of these very opaque on dark surfaces, and quick drying?
Thanks!
Hopefully I attached a photo comparing Colorbox Frost White pigment ink (top)with Brilliance Moonlight White pigment ink (bottom).
IMO, the Frost White is brighter but takes much longer to dry (more than 5 minutes but not exactly sure how long) which could be a factor for mass production or quick cards.
I stamped with Frost White first then with moonlight White, waited 5 minutes (I set a timer) and touched a clean thumb to each image. The Frost White was still quite wet but no ink was on my thumb from the Moonlight White.
Shelby, I have found that (a) pigment inks really work best for me and (b) heat setting immediately makes the best impression. Even the quicker drying inks will be absorbed a little bit into the paper, thereby reducing the opacity. If you can stamp and then immediately heat it before that can happen, the white will really pop more.
I really do feel your pain...I'll bet I've tried 6 or 7 different white pads just in the last five or so years. White is just a difficult color (non-color?).
TeeGeeDee, thank you SO MUCH for that comparison!! So helpful!
MSBetsyZ, thank you also for your explanation. Question: Does heat setting immediately help it set easier, or does it just allow for a brighter white?
I love SCSers! You guys are awesome!
You're welcome. One of my goals is to organize my inkpads by color and to have a comparison of each color on light and dark cardstock to make choosing one for a project quicker/easier. So ... part of that goal just got started :-D (unless I end up trimming the images for holiday cards!)
I stamped my four white inks on black cardstock to compare. From the inks I have, the VersaMagic Cloud White and Adirondack Snow Cap seem to be the brightest whites of my bunch.
The best white ink I've ever used is the white pigment ink by JoAnn's. Even though it's pigment ink, it dries fairly quickly. It's also very bright, even on very dark papers. I don't know if they ship to Canada, but you can try their online store. Good luck with your search.
The very best white ink I've ever used is Fresh Snow by Papertrey. It's opaque and is nice and bright. It also is not quick drying as it is also a pigment ink, but it's so perfect otherwise that I happily deal with that!
__________________ ~*~ Clara ~*~ If you can think it, you can ink it!
TeeGeeDee, thank you SO MUCH for that comparison!! So helpful!
MSBetsyZ, thank you also for your explanation. Question: Does heat setting immediately help it set easier, or does it just allow for a brighter white?
I love SCSers! You guys are awesome!
Both, lol! Because it dries the ink faster, the ink will stay brighter because more of it is left sitting on top of the paper rather than absorbed into it.
The very best white ink I've ever used is Fresh Snow by Papertrey. It's opaque and is nice and bright. It also is not quick drying as it is also a pigment ink, but it's so perfect otherwise that I happily deal with that!
This one has my vote also!! Works great on dark cardstock!!
__________________ God watches us at all times. Let's try to be entertaining!! (River City Rubber Works)
Location: Wishing I was not at work but I have to pay for my hobbies some how! LOL!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YouInkIt
The very best white ink I've ever used is Fresh Snow by Papertrey. It's opaque and is nice and bright. It also is not quick drying as it is also a pigment ink, but it's so perfect otherwise that I happily deal with that!
Another vote for PTI's Fresh Snow. Also, the vintage cream is a nice change too!!
I have to admit, I have a bunch of white inks. :rolleyes:
I wasn't really fond of the Staz On white, too much trouble. I have the Brilliance one and I think it's pretty nice, but not my fave. I also have that sort of cream colored chalk ink, which works pretty good, but isn't *white*. I was very excited when Ranger came out with their white because I love their products, but it wasn't as bright as I wanted. By far the best one I've found so far is the Colorbox Frost White.
Between the Ranger & the Colorbox pad I would probably choose Colorbox just because it's so bright - but it does take a long time to dry. The pad on the Ranger one is a little firmer & drier feeling. The colorbox pad is softer and definitely more 'wet' - it's very easy to get too much ink on your stamp & create halos on your paper - it needs a gentle touch!
Perhaps someday I'll get the chance to try some of the newer whites, Pallette, PTI, and that one from Elzybells. The quest never ends!:rolleyes:
__________________ All inked up... and somewhere to go. My gallery, small but mighty... or maybe just mighty small! Come see my almost new blog... M'ija Stamps!
Have a the Brilliance white, Stazon cotton white, colour box, and like the colour box out of all of them. I also in desperation tried a dollarstore pigment ink that was just as bright (and had the long drying time also) as the Colour Box white. I just live with the fact that if I want white I either have to heat set, emboss, or leave it dry over night (or longer if its a coated paper like a pearl finish paper).
Jennifer McGuire, of Hero Arts, has mentioned how much she likes working with Memories White, on dark and kraft card stocks. It's made by Stewart Superior. I haven't had an opportunity to buy and test that one myself, and do not know if it has fast drying properties.
I just went to a card marathon day before yesterday and used this ink... I bought one before I left I liked it so much.
I've sent the Palette inks back to Stewart Superior because they clumped in places and looked watery in others when I reinked. The Colorbox Frost White was perfect when it was new, but the reinker messes that up too. I'm intending to try Adirondack next because I've heard good things about it twice. When white ink makes something look perfect, seems like it's stunningly perfect, so no wonder we're all looking for a good one.
A non-demonstrator whose art I really admire prefers Stampin' Up! white craft ink, but someone here didn't like it so much. Maybe it's difficult to produce?
I've had as bad luck with black. I just finished a 200-card black and white project and the black is fading on the finished cards while we speak. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! Does cardstock "eat" ink? I'm stunned to have worked on these cards all these weeks and the main image is fading. I used 120 lb. white smooth cardstock. It doesn't look as if it would absorb ink.
I've sent the Palette inks back to Stewart Superior because they clumped in places and looked watery in others when I reinked. The Colorbox Frost White was perfect when it was new, but the reinker messes that up too. I'm intending to try Adirondack next because I've heard good things about it twice. When white ink makes something look perfect, seems like it's stunningly perfect, so no wonder we're all looking for a good one.
A non-demonstrator whose art I really admire prefers Stampin' Up! white craft ink, but someone here didn't like it so much. Maybe it's difficult to produce?
I've had as bad luck with black. I just finished a 200-card black and white project and the black is fading on the finished cards while we speak. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! Does cardstock "eat" ink? I'm stunned to have worked on these cards all these weeks and the main image is fading. I used 120 lb. white smooth cardstock. It doesn't look as if it would absorb ink.
Pigment inks tend to be fade resistant, whereas dye inks will often fade--some more quickly than others . . .
What type and brand of black ink did you use? That may be indicative of why your projects are fading. :(
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
JulieHRR, I used VersaFine Onyx pigment and found it still smeared after leaving it to dry all night. I knew these cards would get handled alot so I then started embossing the VersaFine but decided that was taking too long.....I had a deadline to meet.
So then I heat-set the VersaFine.......just blew the heating gun on each until the ink appeared dry. That appeared to work but about 75 cards into the project, the VersaFine pad was dry so I switched to a new Palette Noir Hybrid pad. Nothing gives the fine detail that the Versafine gives, and the stamp I was using had a ton of detail, but I kept on with the Noir anyway, and heat-set it the same way. When that pad went dry, I used Staz-On Jet Black, which is a dye ink, and heat-set that the same way.
So which ink faded? I've got 200 cards and don't know which ink was the worst, because all 200 have the same image and the same sentiment and all are fading but some much worse than others.
I can't trash the project........waaaaayyyyy too much money invested, so I bought some .01 Micron black pens and am busily trying to draw in the missing color. The stamp is a Serendipity large treble cleft with holly, pine and ribbon decoration done so it looks as if sketched by an artist, so the sketching I'm doing doesn't look really off the wall and I hope will pass for the way it's supposed to look, but now I am sooooo gun-shy. I've been stamping for 8 or 9 years and never had ink fade before. BUT I've never made cards without embossing before either, and never made 200 of the same card, and never before used such fine 120 lb. cardstock. Embossing gives a whole different look, and wouldn't have been appropriate, and I would like to not have to go back to embossing everything, but surely there must be black ink that stays black without embossing. Does anyone stamp black and just leave as is without anything to preserve it?
Julie, thanks for telling me pigment doesn't fade as much as dye. I would have guessed just the opposite would be true.
Friendly Kat, you lucked out. I bought New Canvas pad and reinker both from Blockhead and from Ellen Hutson. Both pads were dry and the reinkers were so clumpy I struggled with a pin getting the nib open enough to get anything out and then it was watery with clumps of chalk-like stuff. I couldn't get enough ink on the pads to get any color to stamp with. I've read elsewhere that this is "normal" for reinkers, but I've never had it happen with other brands. Other brands aren't "hybrid ink", however, so perhaps the clumpiness is a property of "hybrid." However, the clumpy dotted look on an image wouldn't be attractive, so I gave up. Not that sending it back to the manufacturer did any good....I'm still out the $20 plus postage. I think I must have been the victim of a bad batch , because lots of people speak highly of Palette inks, which is why I got it in the first place. Before that, I used VersaFine exclusively.
White ink!
