Ink Matters: Choosing the Right Ink for Stamping Success

 

If you’ve ever stamped an image and thought, “Why does this look smudgy?” or “Why won’t my ink dry on this paper?”—you’re not alone! Picking the right ink for the job can make all the difference in your finished project. Let’s break down the basics of ink types so you can choose confidently every time you stamp.

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🖤 Dye Inks: Quick-Drying & Crisp

Best For: Everyday stamping, quick projects, and layering colors.
Dry Time: Fast.
Examples: Stampin’ Up! Classic Stampin’ Pads.

Dye inks are water-based and absorb into the paper quickly. That makes them perfect for crisp images and no-fuss cleanup. They're ideal for sentiments, background stamping, and when you need to move fast—like mass-producing cards.

Tip: Because they dry so quickly, they’re not the best for heat embossing unless you stamp super fast.

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✨ Pigment Inks: Rich & Slow-Drying

Best For: Heat embossing, stamping on darker cardstock, and juicy color.
Dry Time: Slow (can smudge if not heat-set).
Examples: White Craft Ink, VersaMark.

Pigment inks sit on the surface of the paper, giving a more opaque and vibrant look. They’re especially great for heat embossing since they stay wet long enough for you to add powder. Use them when you want bold looks or to stamp on vellum or dark cardstocks.

Tip: Heat-set for faster drying, or give ample time before handling.

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🎨 Solvent Inks: For Special Surfaces

Best For: Stamping on slick surfaces like acetate, window sheets, or metal.
Dry Time: Moderate.
Examples: StazOn.

Solvent inks are made to stick to non-porous surfaces. They’re your go-to when stamping on glassy, glossy, or plastic-like materials. Cleanup requires a special StazOn cleaner—regular stamp cleaner won’t do the trick.

Tip: Only use these on red rubber stamps—not photopolymer—as they can cause damage over time.

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🌊 Hybrid & Specialty Inks

Hybrid inks (like Memento) offer the best of both worlds—they dry quickly but stay crisp, making them great for coloring with alcohol markers like Stampin’ Blends.

Tip: Always test your ink with your coloring medium to prevent smearing or bleeding.

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Final Thoughts

Whether you’re layering colors, embossing sentiments, or stamping on acetate, the right ink choice can turn a frustrating project into a flawless one. Keep a small reference chart of your inks and what they work best for, and you’ll always be ready to create with confidence.

What’s your most-used ink pad? And which one are you curious to try more? Share your faves below—I’d love to know what’s in your ink stash!

Happy stamping,
Katrina 💖
Katrina’s Kreative Heart

Ink Ink All Kinds of Ink!

Hi, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “is there a difference between all the inks out there, and if so, what is the difference?” Well the answer to the first part of the question is YES! There are 3 major categories of ink out there with a few sub-categories  that have made their way to the market, Dye Ink, Pigment Ink (craft ink) and Solvent Ink.

Let’s start with the most commonly used ink, dye ink. Dye ink is a water-based ink that is used most frequently to stamp with. Water-based dye inks work well on all sorts of paper and dries very quickly. It comes in a wide rainbow of colors and Stampin’ Up!© is no exception..we carry a wide range of colors in our collections. Other examples of dye ink are Archival Inks and Memento® Inks. 

Archival Inks have the properties of water-based dye inks, such as quick dry time, however, they also have the properties of pigment ink (crisp dark color) and Solvent inks, (don’t react with water). The later, making them ideal for water-coloring as they will not react with water and run like other dye inks.

Memento® Inks are a water-based dye ink that is ideal for coloring with alcohol markers such as Copic® or Spectrum Noir®. The formulation of these ink pads prevent their ink from reacting with the alcohol preventing them from running and smearing with coloring. These are a must have if you like to color with alcohol based markers.

The second most commonly used ink, is the pigment ink, or craft ink. These inks are much thicker in consistency than dye inks and have a much longer drying time than dye inks. This makes them ideal for heat embossing because the wet ink holds the embossing powder well while heating the powder. But beware, because of the increase in drying time, it is very easy to smear and smudge this ink making for a messy project. Currently, Stampin Up!© carries Versamark ®and Whisper White Craft Ink® in their line of pigment inks.

Finally, the 3^rd most commonly used ink is solvent ink such as Stazon® ink. Solvent inks are permanent inks that are ideal for non-porous materials such as tiles, glass etc. It is also an excellent ink to use for water-coloring as it does not react to water. Solvent inks are permanent and do require a special cleaner, such as Stazon Cleaner® to clean your stamps, however, do NOT use this cleaner with your photopolymer stamps as this could react with the photopolymer and ruin them.  

I hope this clears up any questions you may have regarding the different types of inks on the market. There are always new developments hitting the market, such as Distress Inks®, which are water-based dye inks that stay wet longer and are highly reactive to water for wonderful effects, Hybrid inks which combine dye based with pigment properties creating a “best of both worlds” and I’m sure many more developments to come in time.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below and I will be sure to get an answer to you. I hope you all have a wonderful day and I thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the web.

Happy stamping ,

Katrina