Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
Craft ink, Pigment ink, Solvent ink, Alcohol ink. I am sure i missed a few more but that's all I can think of for now. I have pigment ink and SU Craft inks and versa mark ink but a technique I am looking at trying asks for Staz-on which is a Solvent ink. I used MS pigment ink with embossing powder and it embossed just fine. I also used versa mark and I think the versa mark is too thick and the lines don't come out as fine. I didn't use the right paper so I couldn't actually finish the technique yet. Here is video on what I want to do:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxCsVlvKIM8
Then I already tried the stamping on tile technique and I used the SU craft ink for that with great success (failed miserabley first by using SU markers to color in the image)but Gina K did a great video on the technique using Staz-on. What I noticed about her video is that the Staz-on dried almost immediately! SU Craft ink does take quiet some time to dry. Once it is dry it is perfect and I use them all the time with out any problems.
Anyway, What is the difference between all of the types of inks and brands and what do you use for what?
Pigment ink and craft ink are the same thing - just a different name. They are opaque inks that stay wet for long enough that embossing powder will stick to them. Versamark is like a pigment ink but it has no coloured pigment so you can use it when you want something to be clear (just use a clear powder with it). It may not capture quite as much detail as some pigment inks but is fine with most stamps.
Solvent inks like Stazon will dry on any surface. If you try to use pigment inks on a slick surface (glass, acetate, glazed ceramic etc) it typically just won't dry whereas Stazon will dry really quickly. It's also waterproof so lots of people like to use it if they plan on watercolouring their image. An alcohol ink is the same thing - just a different name again. If you buy bottles of the stuff, it tends to be called "alcohol ink" and if you buy the pad, it tends to say "solvent ink". One thing to note is that you can't stamp with a solvent ink and colour in with something that is also solvent-based (Copics, Sharpies etc) - the solvent in your colouring tool will just react with the solvent in your stamped lines and smear them.
The other main ink type is dye inks - that's what SU! calls "classic" ink. They are more transparent inks and dry quickly but only on absorbent surfaces (paper or fabric, for example). If you try stamping a slick surface with dy ink it will just bead up and wipe right off. There are a few that stay wetter a bit longer which makes it possible to emboss them if you work pretty quickly (and detail powder often works best) - Distress ink has the longest "open" time in this respect, Adirondack dye inks are also pretty good. Dye inks tend to be best if you want to do sponging, brayering or blending techniques. You can also watercolour with them (just squish the lid down onto the pad before opening and then pick up some of the colour with a brush) - Distress inks stay true to colour, some others may break down a little to show different component colours in the ink. That can be cool but you don't always want it so it's a good idea to test out any new colour before using it that way.
Sometimes people just use an ink they have on hand to demonstrate a technique and it's not absolutely vital to use that exact ink - it depends what you're trying to achieve. Can you tell us what technique you're wanting to try out and maybe somebody can say if there's an alternative to Stazon? I'm assuming it's something different than the watercolour floral technique in the video as that doesn't use Stazon.
AngelNorth, you are a wealth of information and always so willing to share and are so very knowledgeable....... I always look for your posts, they have helped me immensely........ Thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge and so clearly and so easy to understand :-)
Aww, thank you GrammaPixel! I guess I have the kind of brain that retains lots of stuff and I trained as a touch typist (ahem, a *few* years ago) so I can type pretty quickly which means I can ramble on for a bit without it taking hours to type in :lol:
Thanks, Angelnorth. The technique I am trying is the one illustrated in the video link I provided. I tried again tonight on another kind of paper. I used the pigment ink and some versa mark because that's what I have and it came out...sort of. The paper I am using isn't the best quality and the water didn't bead up very well on it. I ended up just sort of water color painting...using an aqua painter to dab onto a stamp pad and then brushing onto the image. Not really what was done in the video at all. Eventually maybe I will purchase all the "right" supplies but I really want to use what I have and I have alot or at least enough!
Ok, as long as your embossing is working out OK then your ink and paper are the next things to experiment with. If you don't have the reinkers you can get more inky without buying them! Get something like a piece of kitchen foil or acetate or an old CD - doesn't matter what it is as long as it's slick and flat. Press your inkpad down onto it (just press the corner down repeatedly if the pad is too big for whatever you're using). You'll get a pool of ink you can then pick up with your aqua painter. It probably won't be such a concentrated effect as the reinker droplet but you'll get much more that way than by dabbing your aquapainter directly onto the pad.
The surface of your paper will make a difference, probably just a matter of experimenting with what you have.
I'm still confused by your comment that "a technique I am looking at trying asks for Staz-on which is a Solvent ink" if that was for the Fifth Avenue watercolour technique on the video - Stazon doesn't figure at all there as far as I can see. Maybe I'm just missing something!
Pigment ink and craft ink are the same thing - just a different name. They are opaque inks that stay wet for long enough that embossing powder will stick to them. Versamark is like a pigment ink but it has no coloured pigment so you can use it when you want something to be clear (just use a clear powder with it). It may not capture quite as much detail as some pigment inks but is fine with most stamps.
Solvent inks like Stazon will dry on any surface. If you try to use pigment inks on a slick surface (glass, acetate, glazed ceramic etc) it typically just won't dry whereas Stazon will dry really quickly. It's also waterproof so lots of people like to use it if they plan on watercolouring their image. An alcohol ink is the same thing - just a different name again. If you buy bottles of the stuff, it tends to be called "alcohol ink" and if you buy the pad, it tends to say "solvent ink". One thing to note is that you can't stamp with a solvent ink and colour in with something that is also solvent-based (Copics, Sharpies etc) - the solvent in your colouring tool will just react with the solvent in your stamped lines and smear them.
The other main ink type is dye inks - that's what SU! calls "classic" ink. They are more transparent inks and dry quickly but only on absorbent surfaces (paper or fabric, for example). If you try stamping a slick surface with dy ink it will just bead up and wipe right off. There are a few that stay wetter a bit longer which makes it possible to emboss them if you work pretty quickly (and detail powder often works best) - Distress ink has the longest "open" time in this respect, Adirondack dye inks are also pretty good. Dye inks tend to be best if you want to do sponging, brayering or blending techniques. You can also watercolour with them (just squish the lid down onto the pad before opening and then pick up some of the colour with a brush) - Distress inks stay true to colour, some others may break down a little to show different component colours in the ink. That can be cool but you don't always want it so it's a good idea to test out any new colour before using it that way.
Sometimes people just use an ink they have on hand to demonstrate a technique and it's not absolutely vital to use that exact ink - it depends what you're trying to achieve. Can you tell us what technique you're wanting to try out and maybe somebody can say if there's an alternative to Stazon? I'm assuming it's something different than the watercolour floral technique in the video as that doesn't use Stazon.
Wal Mart has STAMPOLOGY onyx black stamp pads that are made especially for acrylic stamps. NEVER smudges!! I just color the imprint. The ink is easy to clean off the acrylic stamps as well. Its VERY inexpensive. Of course you would find it in the Craft section of the store Hope this helps you stamping w acrylic stamps? Stampin Busia
Angelnorth, I know "they say" not to use StaZon or other solvent inks with Copics, but I can tell you I have done it successfully. Someone sent me swap images stamped in Olive Green StaZon, and I colored them with Copics, no problem (it is the jungle background on this card, if you want to see proof WRAK Monkees diorama by nottoocreative at Splitcoaststampers). Even in the Copic Chatter thread, there is mixed information about this, but Marianne (the Copic guru :mrgreen said it's not that they will bleed, but that the ink might get on your marker tips and discolor them (they will still work though)...
So, my guess is that, while they are all "solvent" based, there are different formulations of solvents, so they aren't exactly the same. KWIM? Not to split hairs, just wanted to share that my experience is that you CAN use StaZon with Copics if necessary!
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
Last edited by nottoocreative; 11-16-2009 at 07:44 AM..
Funnily enough, I've had exactly the opposite experience with a swap image, Lynn! I'd read that if Stazon is left long enough you can often colour with Copics with no problem as all the solvent has evaporated. I tried colouring a swap image stamped in Jet Black Stazon literally months after receiving it and the lines bled like crazy! Maybe it depends partly on the colours you're using? Who knows!
Funnily enough, I've had exactly the opposite experience with a swap image, Lynn! I'd read that if Stazon is left long enough you can often colour with Copics with no problem as all the solvent has evaporated. I tried colouring a swap image stamped in Jet Black Stazon literally months after receiving it and the lines bled like crazy! Maybe it depends partly on the colours you're using? Who knows!
Interesting! Maybe it's the paper, too.
I've also found that I can have great success with some inks...UNTIL I use the colorless blender, then it ruins everything (ask me how I know) :rolleyes: So maybe you are right, it has something to do with the color.
And, maybe Olive Green Stazon is different than Jet Black??!!
Well, at any rate, if it's you're only image, don't chance it...but if you have others, you can always try it, right?!
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
What is the differnce between inks?
great ink pad for Acrylic stamps
