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I am finally going to take the plunge into these inks ... taken me a long while to decide. I am having trouble choosing colors and I was wondering if I am better off getting more colors and no reinkers right now or less colors but buying the reinkers now. Any suggestions?
What I've done is buy inks in the basic colors (browns, blacks and blue [my favorite color]) and purchased the markers in the colors I use less. I think reinkers for the basics will be pretty available and easy to find. He's come out with seasonal colors, some of which are still available. If you purchase those, it's probably wise to get reinkers with them. I bought picket fence in the marker and stain as I did for some metallics, vintage photo and black soot. Hope this helps.
mob
My vote would be to get a few colours and reinkers, and then add more as you can budget for them. I started out with colours only but got the reinkers pretty quickly and now I get them both together always.
But I think it depends on what you expect to use them for? I found that I wanted the reinkers for a couple of techniques, and also I think because I do a lot of wrinkle-free distress I re-ink my pads more than some people might.
I started out with Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint, Faded Jeans and Walnut Stain, and then it just grew and grew as I started to use them for colouring, rather than my watercolour pencils.
I think it depends what you want to do with them as to where your money is best spent. If you're basically going to stamp and sponge then the pads should do you just fine - theyre juicy and last ages before they need reinking. If you're going to do a limited amount of watercolouring with them then you can manage with the pads (squeeze the pad while it's shut to get a little pool of ink on the lid that you can pick up on a brush) but having the reinker makes it easier. If you want to do a lot of watercoluring or any of the techniques such as shaving foam marbling that require drops of ink then get the reinkers as you go along.
If you can give us some ideas of the kinds of images etc you ike using, we might be able to give you some colour suggestions to help you decide what to get. For example Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick make beautiful brayered or sponged sunsets; Antique Linen and Vintage Photo are invaluable for vintage effects.
It's worth looking out for sales, too. JoAnn had 50% off all inks a while back and that included all Distress pads and reinkers. I guess the chance of that being repeated anytime soon is slim but other places might do something similar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mobrien207
He's come out with seasonal colors, some of which are still available. If you purchase those, it's probably wise to get reinkers with them.
All the "limited edition" seasonal colours have become part of the regular range of colours now and are available as singles (whereas they were in packs of three colours on first release).
Thanks ladies. I think mostly I just want to make backgrounds for my cards. I love the look of backgrounds with water splatters ... and backgrounds with two or three colours mixed around ... where you put ink on the craft mat, spritz with water and then put your paper in it ... those types of backgrounds. My fave colors are blues and purples.
OK, it sounds like you want to do what Sabrina referred to as "wrinkle free Distress" (it's Tim Holtz's name for the technique where you smoosh the pad onto the craft mat, spritz with water and then put your paper on it). So you'll probably need to reink your pads a bit more often and getting the reinker might be worth your while. Mind you, I can't see Ranger discontinuing these at the moment so you could always get the pads first and plan on the reinkers a bit later.
Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves are both nice purples and being mid-range/darker tones in the Distress line they're probably good for what you want to do. Milled Lavender is the other purple but it's pretty light and has a slightly odd grey tone to it.
There are plenty of blues in the line - Faded Jeans and Salty Ocean are both pretty "true blue" in the mid tone range whereas Broken China is a more turqoise blue; Chipped Sapphire is a lovely rich, dark blue with a slightly purplish cast and Stormy Sky has a more grey tone to it. Tumbled Glass is possibly the prettiest blue ink colour ever but it is quite pale so although I adore it, I might say steer clear of that one on your first round of Distress purchases given what you want to do with them.
There is a colour swatch page on the Ranger site here although to be honest I don't find the colour representation that accurate (could be monitor settings though!).
I started slow with them and bought a few pads with their reindeers (I buy reinkers for all my pads...) I see Angel North covered the fun colors etc. I would buy the colors you use in your work like the blues and purples and then branch out. I would include Vintage photo, antique linen as they are great for edges and aging paper. I have them all built up as I worked with them. Highly recommend watching Tim's Videos as he has a lot of info on them. Have fun getting inky!!
I was late getting on the Distress Inks bandwagon too. I haven't bought reinkers yet because Mike's and A.C.Moore don't carry them and they have limited colors. I started with Antique linen (a must have),chipped sapphire, faded jeans, peeled paint, spiced marmalade, dusty concord and tea stain. Have since added wild honey, fried brick, worn lipstick (can be a pink if you don"t reink your sponge), forest moss and victorian velvet. I also have the mustard seed marker. There are tons of other colors I want but these work for me. I do wish I had the reinker for Antique linen because I use that alot and my pad is getting dry. Hope this helps.
The Distress Ink pads last forever before they need reinking and I use mine ALL the time. Except for an occasional stamp to stamp in black I use almost exclusively the distress inks.
I did buy all the reinkers needed for my original colors from about 5 years ago but I have yet no need to reink the pad with them. I mainly use the reinkers for some of the techniques already mentioned above. My most favorite colors I use a lot are Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Spun Sugar, Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint etc. The last 4 sets of paints T.Holtz put out are amazing to me and I love them especially the winter ones. I don't see where you could go wrong buying any of these wonderful inks. If you are fast and have your embossing powder at the ready, you can emboss nicely with these. But you have to be fast. Have fun choosing your colors; they all are amazing and have such really cool names for each color. How can you beat "Worn Lipstick?"
I use Vinatge photo and antique linen most for distressing and the colours less so. Reinkers don't have to be a 'right-away' purchase as I am 99.9999% positive these inks aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Or for years. Or decades. So go ahead and collect them slowly. I never pay full price either. Ellen Hutson often has sales on Tim Holtz stuff and if you take a class that uses them she gives you a coupon code so I you take a class by Jennifer McGuire from Online Card classes it could be worth your while. I got a bunch of TH at 15% off.
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
I am SLOW at getting these inks too BUT, I DO have a few! Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, & Tea Dye! I didn't buy the re-inkers with them but, I WILL from now on! Being that these ink pads are small & they need to be "juicey" you want to be able to add more ink when needed! AND if you like to use them alot, you NEED the re-inkers!
OK, it sounds like you want to do what Sabrina referred to as "wrinkle free Distress" (it's Tim Holtz's name for the technique where you smoosh the pad onto the craft mat, spritz with water and then put your paper on it). So you'll probably need to reink your pads a bit more often and getting the reinker might be worth your while. Mind you, I can't see Ranger discontinuing these at the moment so you could always get the pads first and plan on the reinkers a bit later.
Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves are both nice purples and being mid-range/darker tones in the Distress line they're probably good for what you want to do. Milled Lavender is the other purple but it's pretty light and has a slightly odd grey tone to it.
There are plenty of blues in the line - Faded Jeans and Salty Ocean are both pretty "true blue" in the mid tone range whereas Broken China is a more turqoise blue; Chipped Sapphire is a lovely rich, dark blue with a slightly purplish cast and Stormy Sky has a more grey tone to it. Tumbled Glass is possibly the prettiest blue ink colour ever but it is quite pale so although I adore it, I might say steer clear of that one on your first round of Distress purchases given what you want to do with them.
There is a colour swatch page on the Ranger site here although to be honest I don't find the colour representation that accurate (could be monitor settings though!).
HTH!
Joanne, I just want to say that your posts are always so informative and you are so generous in sharing your extensive knowledge - thanks!
__________________ Claudia Splitcoast Fan Club Member
I had all of them except for the most recent ones, complete with the reinkers. I gave them all away due to storage reasons and being able to get the same effects with my SU pads/reinkers except for quick embossing, which I never did. Trying to do more with less.
I actually have all of them. Yep, my not so secret addiction! ;) I don't imagine that I paid full price for any of them - I built up my collection over time using coupons & good deals. Vintage Photo is my all time favorite brown - it's just yummy. I don't really think any of the purples are all that, but the blues are gorgeous! Salty ocean is stunning. One thing to think about is if you plan to do color schemes that all sit next to each other on the color wheel or not. Maybe throw in an opposite color for some contrast (which isn't really *my* way, but it could be yours) or throw in some green so that your backgrounds have some variation in color. No matter what - they're all fantastic inks!
__________________ 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!
Help! I'm very new to stamping and don't know what ink to use for different techniques. Pigment ink, distress ink, dye ink, what ink do you use for what technique? Thank you!
Many inks can be used for the same techniques, however, pigment inks are slow drying so can be blended and used for heat embossing. Dye inks dry by sinking into the paper so cannot be heat embossed except on vellum and can be blended on glossy card stock. Distress inks are dye inks that have been formulated to retain their original color when mixed with water and they stay wet longer so they can be blended, too. Chalk inks seem to be a hybrid and dry with a soft chalky look. Alcohol inks have special purposes, almost all that you can duplicate by adding alcohol to dye inks. They can be use on glossy card stock and acetate with beautiful results. Then there are solvent inks that are permanent on non porous surfaces, but they don't work that way for me on glazed tile for some reason. I know there are sites that have better explanations, but this will give you an idea when people are talking about different techniques. Wish I had known some of this when I was a "Newbie." Also, many brands/companies make all these types. You do not need a specific brand of pigment ink, say, to heat emboss. Can't tell you how many different brands I purchased because the instructions or supply list named one.
I am an embossing inky person-so permanent ink is #1. I use primarily black ink for most projects--I use a lighter shade of ink for when I want to emboss gold, silver and I use white ink for white embossing. I use a large tupperware container filled with clear embossing powder. Remember you can always stamp basic black on colored paper for color effects and you can always use good Copic markers for coloring...so keep the ink issue easy and branch out with color from different sources. Ink pads last a long time--so invest in colored inks and refills later...when the ink pads are not so juicy! Good luck!
__________________ I love creating something...from nothing! Susanne
I am an embossing inky person-so permanent ink is #1. I use primarily black ink for most projects--I use a lighter shade of ink for when I want to emboss gold, silver and I use white ink for white embossing. I use a large tupperware container filled with clear embossing powder. Remember you can always stamp basic black on colored paper for color effects and you can always use good Copic markers for coloring...so keep the ink issue easy and branch out with color from different sources. Ink pads last a long time--so invest in colored inks and refills later...when the ink pads are not so juicy! Good luck!
When I took the plunge into Distress in 2011 I was having trouble deciding on colors too. I started a thread and asked for some help; pictures specifically, of the similar colors grouped together. All the blues, all the greens...etc. That way I could decide which ones to get first since my budget wouldn't allow buying them all at once.
Here is the link to that thread that has some pictures if you scroll down. Will You Compare Distress Inks? by cobby at Splitcoaststampers
Now this was back in 2011 and there have been more colors added to the line since then but maybe this will help you get started.
Do you think Distress inks are superior to SU ink for sponging? I have gotten that impression. I am looking for the easiest way to sponge with the Ranger square sponge things and not get the square lines from the edge of the sponge.
Last edited by eyestitch; 04-23-2013 at 04:22 PM..
The trick is to approach the card stock from off the edge and work your way onto the card stock in small circular motions. Think that the Distress Inks are a bit moister, but I've had good luck with SU. Usually, though, I use regular sponges.
@gkathy....you asked about which inks to use for which techniques. This is by no means a complete and authoritative explanation, but I can tell you the little I know that works and how I use them.
Pigment inks...stay wet longer so are good if you are going to heat emboss. Stamp your image in pigment ink, sprinkle on embossing powder in color of your choice, use a heat gun specifically made for embossing ( not a hairdryer )..and heat the powder until it "melts" and gets shiny and leaves a raised image.
Pigment inks can also give you better coverage if using a stamp with a lot of solid surface; to get a solid area of color to look "solid" and not splotchy.
Dye inks...most versatile, easiest to use. Dry quickly. I got into stamping by being introduced to the hobby at a Stampin' Up party and was a demo for a few years. Their dye inks are very nice quality but up until now have not worked very well ( for me ) on any CLEAR polymer stamps. On rubber...they rock! Memento inks are good also and seem to do well on both rubber and clear polymer.
Distress Inks...these are fun. They are a bit translucent, and they react with water so you can watercolor your images with them, or create some cool backgrounds. To really see what all you can do with them go to: timholtz.com and click on the video link and watch all the video tutorials out there. You can also go to YouTube, search under Tim Holtz and watch that way.
Solvent inks: one brand is StazOn...they have a chemical odor but are good for stamping on stone or glossy tiles to make coasters, or to use if you are going to be adding more ink on top of the first stamped image by way of a watercolor wash or something and you don't want your original stamped image to run or smear.
Distress Ink
