rubber, photopolymer & ink questions

[rockandrollstamper]

I have both rubber and photopolymer stamps. I have Hero arts dye, memento dye, SU dye & Adirondak dye inks. I have finally found the perfect paper to stamp on... Ninna solar white 80# & 110#, but I am finding an issue with my ink pads on this paper.
My question is...
On just the Ninna solar white paper, what inks work best with rubber and photopolymer. Some inks just bead up on the clear stamps.

Thank you for your assistance.

Happy Stamping....

[kelly flint]

I use Neenah (Nina) solar white . Memento ink to use Copics. Printworks Collections black for basic stamping and also for Prisma Color pencils using mineral spirits as a blending medium. Please note you can not use Memento with mineral spirits solution it will smear. I also use Printworks Outliner Ink for a water coloring technique. Outliner ink also can not be used with mineral spirits, it will also smear. Of course Color Box is slow drying and is the only ink for embossing powders. As for your poly stamps, I find different companies use different materials. Beading is a problem with solid images on poly. Outline images work the best for poly stamps. I hope this answers some of your questions or if it is of any help. Take care and happy stamping. Kelly

[SkyNacho]

You may want to prime your photopolymer stamps; they sometimes carry a residue from the manufacturing process. There are several ways to do this.

Some people rub a white eraser over their clear stamps before stamping.
Some people use a very fine grain sandpaper.
Some people will "stamp" the clear stamp on their arm or palm a few times.
Some people will ink their stamp with clear versamark ink a few times and stamp off.

If I have ink beading on a stamp, I usually just ink it with whatever I'm about to use and stamp it a few times on scrap paper until the image looks okay on the scraps, and then I stamp.

[Rachelrose]

Photopolymers always take ink in beads. Trying to improve the image by pressing harder often makes it worse. I have found I have to use a lighter hand with them. And they do improve as they age and aren't quite so shiny smooth. Conditioning them can help. Start with the most innocuous thing - like rubbing with an eraser - and move on from there.

A solid clear stamp is the hardest stamp to get a good image from, but it can be done. And it also helps to remember that you are producing a hand made project, and machine-like perfection is not necessary for it to be beautiful. In fact, the little imperfections in one thing or another are part of the charm! ;-)!

[dini]

Kelly Flint, my brother lives in Longview! He works at LeTourneau.

Another tip for stamping with dye inks... press the stamp down and hold it for 7-10 seconds. This gives the ink time to soak into the paper and you'll get a more even impression. With cheaper clear stamps, try not to squish them down, or your impression will be fuzzy.

Withe solid images, you can spritz the stamp lightly with water after inking to help the ink lift and soak into the paper more evenly.

[Louisa May]

Thanks, Dini, for those hints. I have more problems with dye inks than others, and will use your brother's tips. I've been stamping for 10 years, and in all that time (and with many, many kinds of paper) have found minimal difference in the quality of images on different brands of paper. The only major difference I found is with halftone stamps, which for me need solvent ink on coated paper.

[shazsilverwolf]

Generally, for clear photopolymer stamps, outline or solid, I recommend Versafine Onyx Black. HERE on my blog I did some comparisons of black inkpads and clear stamps. The main pad I was testing was called Clearly Better, but you can see that the Versafine did just as well, if not better.

[rockandrollstamper]

thank you ladies - I have cleaned the clear stamps and conditioned them. It seems the caulk ink work better not to bead up.