Selecting the right ink for your rubber stamping job is all about keeping in mind what you want to do with your projects and what other materials you wish to use. In this article, we’ll take a look at the different types of ink and give tips for the right selection of ink for a particular craft.
The most versatile ink is dye ink. It is also perhaps the most common. It can be used on almost every type of paper. It does not do well on vellum, however. This is in part because of one of its few limitations, namely, that it dries too quickly to be used for embossing and because of a limitation of vellum, that ink on vellum must be embossed or it will smear.
If you wish to emboss, you will want to select pigment ink. This ink is also great if you want to blend colors together since it is rather like paint in this regard. Pigment ink also won’t fade with sunlight, so it will be a great addition to a craft that receives direct sunlight. Pigment ink does not clean up as well as dye ink does, and so you will often have to use a toothbrush to scrub at your rubber die a bit. If the ink is being stubborn, try a bit of water mixed with window cleaning solution.
If you want to fill in or around your print with a water-based paint, such as watercolor, or markers, you’ll need a different set of ink, unless you want to emboss pigment ink. This ink you’ll need is alternately called archiver’s ink or permanent ink. There won’t be as many colors to choose from as with dye ink or pigment ink, so don’t be disappointed when you’re shopping around looking for an unusual color.
Inks are a very important part of the rubber stamping hobby. I hope this article has given you a little more information on how to choose the right ones.
