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I have all of the SU ink pads (at least the regular color families) And just a few of the in-color ones.
I'm sure I don't used ALL of the colors (I basically just do Christmas cards) but I just inherited all of my mom's stamping/scrapbooking stuff before she went into a nursing home, so I have quite a bit on top of all the stuff I already had (which was quite substantial)
Anyhow, I've been debating on whether I should buy the re-inkers for when my pads run low or do you think it's just better to get a whole new ink pad? I've read that it takes about 1/2 the bottle to completely re-ink the pad. I don't know for sure and I'm sure it depends on the pad but I don't know if it's worth the hassle of re-inking it when you could just buy a new one.
Any thoughts?
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You could buy 2 reinkers for the cost of a single stamp pad and then you'd be able to reink for a good, long time. Plus, if you buy the reinkers in color families, you save a bit there as well.
For reinking the linen pads, I've never needed more than a quarter of a refill (and in most cases way less than that). For the new firm foam pads, more ink is likely to be needed but I don't think I've ever used a half-bottle.
HTH
P.S. Pick up whichever you decide on during the FREE SHIPPING deal next week.
I'd definitely go with the reinkers. I've never used even close to a half bottle on the old style pads. I get 4-5 reinkings out of each little bottle. Plus, you can reink when the need arises. No need to reink a pad now, if you won't be using that color for a year. Just have the reinker bottle handy so when you do need that color, you can...
If you buy all fresh pads, the colors you don't use much will go dry, and you will need to reink anyway.
A bonus is that the ink from the reinker bottles can be used for a ton of cool techniques.
Reinking is very easy to do and it only, literally, takes seconds to do.
And using 1/2 of the bottle of the reinker to reink a SU ink pad (or any ink pad), based on my experience, is not necessary (i.e. too much ink) even if the pad is very dry. So I find buying reinkers instead of new pads to be more cost effective PLUS you have the added benefit that if you pull out your ink pad to stamp and it's too dry to use, if you have the reinker you can ink your pad then and there and you can use it immediately instead of having the wait time (and inconvenience) of going to the store or ordering a new pad online.
There are quite a few videos on YouTube re: how to reink a SU pad (cloth and foam versions) as well as how to reink other brand stamp pads.
Personally, I use the tip of the reinker bottle to distribute the ink into the pad when I reink (regardless of cloth vs. foam) so you can decide if you want to use a bone folder (some use a plastic spoon) to distribute the ink. A word of caution with the foam pad surface is that you don't want to dig into (gouge) the surface when distributing the ink into the pad when reinking regardless of which method you use to distribute the ink into the foam surface.
HTH you to make a decision re: whether you want to buy reinkers or new pads.
I, personally, will ALWAYS buy reinkers regardless of the brand of the inkpad. The only exception would be, of course, if I have an inkpad for which reinkers are not available (i.e. the majority of Versafine ink pad colors do not offer reinkers but, that said, Versafine ink pads are like the energizer bunny and go on and on and on before they run out of ink LOL and you can get the reinkers for black and sepia Versafine pads, just not for the rest of the colors).
__________________ "May your mind whirl joyful cartwheels of creativity." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie.
Last edited by QueenOfInkland; 04-19-2014 at 06:17 AM..
I thought that was only true for about five colors.
You are absolutely right.
Q: Do old Classic Stampin� Ink Refills work with the new firm foam pads? A: Yes, with the exception of Basic Black, Basic Gray, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, and Tempting Turquoise, which have been reformulated to work with the new foam pad material. We do not recommend using old ink refills in these colors with the new firm foam pads.
I thought that was only true for about five colors.
That's what I thought too! ;)
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Rather than make a big stink,I simply will choose to
re-ink, no need to wash up at the sink.. all I have left is to think .. about color choice: purple or pink.. or maybe Wistaria Wink? I cannot decide
in a blink.. it might end up SO rinky-dink!
Maybe if I put on my mink. as it so often helps me
to think... Humm: SHOULD it be purple or pink?!
Alas, I fear I must slink.. right away from decisions of
ink ... so instead view a movie 'bout Pan.. and his fairy friend
whose name is Tink! -Heather Labudde
My MO is when I buy a new pad, I ALWAYS buy a reinker. I have a set of stamping spots that were available in the "new colors" years ago and use reinkers on those instead of buying new pads. Saves space and money.
Re ink for sure. I dont have SU pads and they look bigger than the ones I use like memento. I have them for every pad I have. Has saved me more than once when doing a big run. Half a bottle? No way with that kind of pad. Maybe an 1/8?
There is also a product called ink refresh for dried pads you can try to kick start dried pads.
for pigment, my experience is mixed. sometimes the reinker glops up, even with using a spoon.
I also look at the ink pad. is the case in good shape? Is the pad sagging? If it is, I'd get a new pad.
I re-inked a StazOn pad for years. It wasn't until re-inking didn't change anything that I realized I needed a new pad. I thought ink pads could go on forever. This one was indeed sagging and losing shape. But that's not what I noticed first. The pad just wouldn't get wet. I wasted a lot of re-inker before I saw what was wrong --sagging and no shape!
I agree with everyone. Reink over and over until your pad is a mess and doesn't work well anymore. I think what happens is the pad gets clogged with pigments. When a pad dries out, the pigments are still there, but the carrier liquid dries out. Eventually it just doesn't seem to work well anymore. And the ink refresher works a bit but I wouldn't buy another bottle.
My old linen ink pads by SU!, bought about 5 years before the last major colour shuffle, are starting to not reink well anymore. That makes them close to 10 years old I think so I've gotten my money's worth.
__________________ RebeccaEdnie Mixed Media Artist, Paper Crafter, Jewelry Designer SCSDirtyDozenAlumni Www.Boxofchocolatescrafts.Com YouNeverKnowWhatI’mGoingtoMake
Using a re-inker OR just buy a new ink pad?
