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I need help on using SU ink pads. Seems as if I always have a "bare" spot on my card. I am using clear and poly stamps. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks
Have to be honest -- I always experienced the same thing when using SU dye ink. Switched to other brands, especially pigment inks, and rarely have that problem now. Have you tried a soft surface underneath, like a mouse pad or magazine? Do your stamps have large solid areas? I have much better luck with coverage with dye inks when I wait a few seconds for the ink to sink into the paper before lifting the stamp up off the paper.
Have you cleaned you clear stamps with an eraser first? And do use fun foam or a paper pad under your paper and hold the stamp down on the paper for a few seconds and press over the whole stamp with your fingers to let the ink absorb like poppy suggests above.
First question, is it always the same part of the stamps that don't come out well? Either the stamps need going over with an eraser, as Arlene says, or you need to make sure you are getting even pressure all over the stamp. If its different areas, then first off, when you've inked it, turn it over in the light and make sure the whole of the stamp is inked. Then again, make sure you use even pressure all over the back of the stamp, especially if its reasonably large. Also, standing up so you can put more pressure on helps. Many people swear by having a thin foam mat under their cardstock, or a magazine, or just a few sheets of copy paper to give a bit of a cushion.
Are the stamps outline mainly, or solid silhouette types? The solid ones are definitely the hardest to get a good print from, I'd recommend either using chalk inks on them, or Versafine. Hth.
All the points here are really valid. Other things I can think of and if it is just SU! Pads that are the issue then these won't apply.
Make sure your stamps are mounted properly, that there are no air bubbles between the stamp and the block. This will cause the stamp not to have a flat surface when stamping.
The other one is to make sure you have enough ink in your ink pad and there isn't a dry spot. If you think of your ink pads as a bowl of oatmeal. you don't want it too runny like soup, and too dry like glue, you want that nice consistency.
Also SU! Pads get stored flat and right side up, due to the nature of the the flip mechanism. If on their side the ink will run out of the pad. The old felt pads if well used over time will get a divot in them also causing inking problems.
Sometimes the stamp is not evenly etched, and then you're out of luck for getting a clean impression. I complained about the sentiment in a SU set. Looking at the stamp ,you could see the center lines were not as deeply cut as the other lines. Instead of just replacing that one stamp, they replaced the whole set. HOWEVER, there was no difference in the sentiment stamp.......still no clean impression. That problem is unusual for SU, but not as unusual for some other brands. Some stamps end up in the wastebasket, unfortunately, but only after I try all the tricks mentioned here.
I think it's hard to get a good image using clear stamps with any brand of dye ink.
In my experience, the clear stamps work so much better with pigment and chalk inks. My favorite all around ink is Versafine Onyx. It is a deep dark black pigment ink, and stamps detailed images with ease, both rubber and clear stamps.
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Using ink pads
