Need Some Opinions - SU Inks
 

I am in the process of shopping for some new inks and am considering getting some SU inks again. Had some years ago. Way back before they got the new case design.

In more recent years I have had Palette and Memento and am not really in love with either. The Mementos tend to be blotchy which is a real pain.

Anyway...

How do you feel about the SU inks? Are they still good quality inks? I want good, solid colors. No more of this blotchy business.

And what about the pads themselves? Are they durable? I remember when they switched to the flip top cases there were some complaints about "saggy" pads. Any issues with that?

And are they doing anything but dye inks now? Was just browsing their online catalog and could only find dye inks. Are they still doing craft ink pads? Thoughts on those if they have them?

TIA!

Full disclosure: I'm a SU! demo, therefore I 'may' have a biased opinion. :)

The new firm foam inkpads are great! Right now there is a problem with Basic Black, but SU! is working on it.
They stamp wonderfully, especially solid images, without blotches.

SU! told demos that we didn't have to upgrade all our inkpads at once, we could continue to use the old felt ones. Many of my friends have chosen to replace their inkpads because they like the new ones so much.
The dye ink is the same as it was last year (except for five colours: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Tempting Turquoise, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum), the big difference is in how the foam holds the ink and transfers it to the stamp.

The only craft inks that we now have are Whisper White and Basic Black.

I love the new SU ink pads! They work great with my clear stamps and the coverage on solid stamps is fantastic.

I am having a hard time justifying replacing all my SU! ink pads with the new ones but my heart sure does want them all!

Is the foam in the new SU inkpads similar to the foam in the old SU craft pads?

It isn't as squishy.

I would compare the pad style to "Vivid!" ink pads - which by the way are made by Clearsnap, not sure who makes SU ink pads. The pads are a very dense foam-type material, almost like a mouse pad, but even denser if you can imagine!

The old SU craft pads were more spongy and squishy, causing uneven distribution of ink onto your stamp. The new SU ink pads are very firm and distribute ink to both clear and rubber stamps evenly, so the ink then transfers beautifully to paper when stamped. It almost seems like the ink itself is better quality, but it's just the new pads, that's what a difference it makes! They are remarkable! IMHO... ;)

I love the new SU ink pads and I will be replacing mine (a little at a time). If I could buy them all right now I would, but I can't so I figured i would replace them one color family at a time.

I have been happy with Memento inks and Stampin' Up Inks (I will say that the new stamp pads are much better for SU-I have used them but don't have any myself yet). Someone mentioned a problem with the black ink pads--I just ordered one; am I going to have a problem with it?

Robth, if your new black ink smears or doesn't seem to dry, contact your Demo. SU is working on the problem and they will.make it right!

I just got the new in colors in the new style of ink pad and I don't think they are any better than anything else.

The ink pools on my acrylic like all the other dye inks I use. The end result is splotchiness. It's possible mine are over saturated and will "mellow" with age but I have a little swatch book and I use a solid image stamp to make the color swatches. I use the stamp specificially because it is solid and will let me evaluate the blotchiness.

This is not a dealbreaker for me, but I know it is for some people.

buzzkill! ;):p I'm not sure about this month's crop, but I'd love to see how they work before I order a ton!

To the OP, I've found youtube videos of the new ink pads helpful. Some aren't super quality, but show what the new pads look like in comparison to old pads, other companies, and with different stamp types (clear, cling, and rubber). I haven't played with them myself, but overall have read positive feedback.

Another line I love is the Archival inks. I love that I can stamp with them and even wet them and all is well.

Claudia: Thanks for letting me know what to look for when I get my black stamp pad--I hope I don't have any problems.

Thank you all, for all the input! I think I will probably end up ordering a couple, see how I like them, and then go from there.

Someone had mentioned to me that they really love the Adirondack line, so I might check those out too.

I have the new SU Subtles set of ink pads and I LOVE them!

The new firm foam pad is fantastic and the ink coverage is amazing. You won't be sorry giving the new pads a try.

Let me throw a cog in the works. I'm an A Muse studio consultant. I joined for the business building opportunity having only SEEN the catalog online. I thought they had a well rounded selection of stamps I could get behind, so I signed up. When I got my kit and first put ink to paper, I literally gasped. I LOVE a|s ink. It is a quick drying pigment ink. It lays on top of cardstock like a pigment ink does. It covers completely with no blotchiness whatsoever. I dries to a chalky finish that I think is beautiful. The pad itself is a soft sponge. You ink up your stamps by GENTLY tapping them on the pad. If you squish them down hard, you will have a very messy stamp to clean. It's kinder, gentler stamping!

That's just another option for you to consider. If you have any specific questions, I will do my best to answer them.

The new SU pads are awesome! The coverage is fantastic, especially on solid images. I have found after years of using the older style there is definately a learning curve. No more pressing down hard and tapping like crazy. The new ones take a gentle touch. I have used them at a couple of classes and so far so good, everyone seems to like them alot. I wasn't sure if I would like them, but I really do. I won't get rid of my old ones, but will get the new ones!

Having done a bit of research and experimenting with clear stamps lately, I can tell you that no dye ink will work well with acrylic stamps. The important thing I've found though is that there is a big difference between the two main types of clear stamps out there: acrylic and photopolymer. While dye ink will 'bead' on the surface of acrylic stamps and give blotchy images no matter what you do to them, photopolymer stamps will take dye ink and stamp with clear, smooth results. For acrylic stamps people seem to get best results with pigment ink or something like Versafine.

For more on this, have a look at this thread::D
http:////www.splitcoaststampers.com/...s-t556214.html

I have a couple of the new SU ink pads and I really love how much easier it is to ink up a stamp evenly, especially solid image stamps. I never did like the old style pads which always seemed to have a 'dead zone' in the middles- I've resorted to using them without sliding the pad on top of the lid and just holding the underside of the pad part with my hand to apply more even pressure.

I'll weigh in with my two cents, but say from the outset that my opinions about the inks I like are very much based on my style of stamping.

I only ever stamp with rubber, so I almost always use a water-based dye ink. I just love all the techniques I can achieve with these inks. I tested as many brands of dye inks I could get my hands on, and in the end I went with SU due to the ease of being able to order them (long before I discovered online shopping), but the other dye ink high on my list was the Adirondack ink. I have since given away all my other testers except the Adirondack. I haven't tried the new SU firm foam pads, but I've had a lot of success using my current ink pads so I doubt I'll be changing them, and if I did, I'd go Adirondak anyway. I like my pads a tad dry, I don't like the really 'juicy' ones. I didn't like the Vivid foam pads because they were too juicy for me.

I use a lot of bold stamps and I prefer to stamp on SU Whisper White, Very Vanilla, or a generic manilla. My other inks are Distress inks, which I love because they are a specillty water-based dye inks and can do things a bit differently than the SU ones, but I don't like them for stamping when I want a crisp clean image. I rarely use black ink for any of my stamping.

Recently I stepped out of my box and started buying Archival Ink by Ranger. I love this ink. It's still new to me and I've got a bit more learning and experimenting to do. Now, even though I said I rarely use black ink, doesn't mean I don't buy it (it's almost manditory isn't it). If I was ever to recommend a black ink, Archival Jet Black would be it. It makes me almost want to use it, lol.

I don't use pigment inks. Not because I don't think they're good, they just don't suit me for the way I like to stamp. As an aside, I've been given Crafty Secrets Clear stamps in a prize but I have a mental blockage when it comes to clear stamps. I don't think I'm a rubber snob, but my early days of stamping with anything and everything didn't leave me with a lot of love for clear stamps, so I just stick to what I know works for me.

I think you'll get alot of differing opinions about ink pads. I think the only way to know is to test for yourself.

More great information, thank you! I checked out that acrylic vs. photopolymer thread, which was very helpful. I think most of my clear stamps are photopolyer, based on the companies listed there.

Theresa, you haved added another recommendation and more great information on the Adirondack and Archival pads, so I will definitely be giving those a try. Thanks for all the info!