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Basic Supplies - Inks

1. DYE INKS
RECOMMENDED SURFACES: matte & glossy cardstock
NOT FOR USE ON: Glass, vinyl, shrink plastic, fabrics & other non-porous surfaces.
NOTE: Ranger Archival inks are permanent under wet work.

Common Brands	Characteristics
Ranger Archival	dry by evaporation
Ranger Adirondack	air dry on matte and glossy cardstock
Ranger Sea Shells	non permanent
Ranger Sea Brights	short wet time
Ranger Stamp-It	colors are transparent
Ranger Nick Bantock	no metallic colors
Ranger Big 'n Juicy Rainbow
Ranger Vintage
Marvy Matchables
Vivid!
Ancient Page
Memories

2. PIGMENT INKS
RECOMMENDED SURFACES: matte cardstocks (air dry), glossy cardstocks (must emboss to seal)
NOT FOR USE ON: glass, vinyl, shrink plastic, fabrics & other non-porous surfaces.

Common Brands	Characteristics
VersaColor	dry by absorption
Encore	air dry on matte cardstock only
VersaMark Watermark	non permanent
Embossing Inkpads	colors are opaque
Ranger Color-It	extended wet time
Ranger Gilding Inkpads	comes in metallic colors
ColorBox CatEyes
ColorBox Pigment Inkpads
ColorBox Petal Points

3. SEMI PERMANENT INKS
RECOMMENDED SURFACES: Matte or glossy cardstocks. May need heat-setting.
NOT FOR USE ON: glass, vinyl, shrink plastic, fabrics or other non-porous surfaces.

Common Brands	Characteristics
Ranger Archival	dries by evaporation
Memories	semi permanent when heat set
Brilliance	will not smear under pressure
VersaFine	will not smear under wet work
India Black Ink	quick drying
Inkpads Marked for Use with Watercolors
ColorBox Chalk
VersMagic Chalk

4. PERMANENT INKS
RECOMMENDED SURFACES: All surfaces including glass, vinyl, shrink plastic, fabrics, transparencies.
INKPAD STORAGE TIP: When not using these pad, put in a zip lock baggie and store in the refrigerator or freezer. This will keep the pad wet longer and decrease the need for re-inking the pad.

Common Brands	Characteristics
Fabrico	air dies on all surfaces
Ranger 213	permanent on all surfaces
Ranger Decor-It	colors are opaque
Staz-On	quick drying
Crafter's Ink

5. BRILLIANCE INKS
Though these are labeled as pigment inks, they do not exhibit the typical behavior of standard pigment inkpads. RECOMMENDED SURFACES: All, extremely beautiful on vellums, air dries on both matte and glossy cardstock and also on non-porous surfaces such as transparencies, plastic and glass. Not recommended for use on fabrics as it is semi-permanent.

Characteristics

dries on non porous surfaces when heat set

air dies on porous surfaces

air dries on matte and glossy cardstock

air dries on vellum

short wet time

semi permanent

colors are opaque

pearlescent colors available

metallic colors available

WATERCOLOR/PAINTS/WET WORK: To paint with watercolors, you must work with a "wet" product on top of a stamped image. (same thing goes for using a blender pen) This means you need an inkpad which dries permanent enough to NOT smear under wet work. Standard pigment and dye inkpads, when dry, will smear under wet work. However, there are some brands of dye and pigment inkpads that are permanent enough when dry to NOT smear under wet work. The following will work well under wet work:

PENCIL WORK: When you use colored pencils, pastel pencils or chalks, the above info for "wet work" also applies. The pressure you use when pushing down on the cardstock will often smear the ink if you aren't using the appropriate ink.

SHRINK PLASTIC, CD's & TRANSPARENCIES/ACETATE: Ranger 213, StazOn and Brilliance are always my preferences for shrink plastic/acetate/CD's (or any other non-porous surface) because it always dries quickly and stamps crisply and clearly. Make sure your pad is well inked prior to stamping, and let it set a bit (5 minutes or so) to "settle" before you ink up your stamp. Brilliance pads also will air dry on shrink plastic/acetate if you give them enough time. Fabrico, when heat set, will dry on shrink plastic or acetate, though I don't feel they stamp as crisply as does Ranger 213 and StazOn. Most Fabric inks will dry on shrink plastic/acetate, but they may need heat setting.

A storage tip for the Ranger 213 pads: These inkpads will naturally dry out quickly when not in use. One way to keep them from drying out while not in use is to put them in a zip lock bag and then store them in your freezer.

So, as a newbie, you need to understand the differences between dye inks, pigment inks, permanent inks and fabric inks. Then buy according to your needs. (if you aren't working on fabrics, you don't NEED fabric inks at the moment) I am often asked which colors to buy first when a stamp artist begins acquiring stamp pads. My best advice is to look at a box of crayons, the smallest box. What colors are there? The basic colors: Black, red, yellow, blue, purple, green, brown. A GOOD black pad is absolutely necessary and my preference is the Ranger Archival Jet Black inkpad and here's why: it dries fairly quickly, it dries true black (not a dull gray), it is permanent under wet work, markers and pencil work (if you choose that). Other than that, I personally look for "color" when choosing my inks. I am quite preferential to Ranger Industries and their products, but that IS a personal preference. If you want a nice metallic inkpad, the best on the market is probably Encore Metallic pigment inks. If you want metallic colors, you have to switch to pigment inks because metallics just don't work well in a dye ink format. Start out purchasing the basic colors, then add to your colors as you NEED more.

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