Dye or Pigment Ink???

I have some really beautiful acrylic stamps by Autumn Leaves . They are "Swirls and Flourishes. Also have some alpha stamps by Anna Griffin.

I will mostly be stamping on paper. Which type of ink do you use the most?

I heard that Tim Holtz pigment ink "beads up" (and takes forever to dry), and StazsOn ink stains the stamp. Have not purchased any dye ink yet.

What type of ink do you use and get good results?

If you are just going to stamp, dye ink will work fine. It dries quickly, works well on paper. Tim Holtz distressed inks are dye inks, but they do take a little longer to dry. If you plan to emboss, you need to use either embossing or pigment ink- they stay wet longer and will hold the embossing powder. StazOn is made to be used on nonporous surfaces and is a solvent ink.

I stand corrected, Tim Holz is a dye ink (not pigment).

I do not plan to do embossing so I guess there is no reason for me to buy a pigment ink.

I do plan to use StazOn for transparencies, (is this a pigment or dye ink)? And is it hard to clean off my stamps?

Some say clean stamps with baby wipes, some say soap and water. I know they make a special product for cleaning stamps (by Technique Tuesday ).

Anyone tried that product?

I haven't tried any cleaning solutions to clean my stamps I just used regualr baby wipes and have not had a problem. and I've been using them for a yr now. my guess would be its your preference on which you prefer to use. hope that helps some

As far as the baby wipes go, is there a certain kind to buy, i thought i saw something on this before and "they" said not to get the wipes with "???" in it - and i cant remember what it was i read? I use the spray on type cleaner and was thinking the baby wipe idea would be better? but dont want to get the wrong kind and ruin any of my stamps.

I've used baby wipes and the staz on cleaner... Acrylic stamps are a little fussier than the regular rubber ones... You may want to use them with a light color ink first since they tend to stain but it doesnt effect how they work.

By nature, pigment ink is permanent, but does take a lot longer to dry, and won't dry on some surfaces. Dye ink tends bleed if it gets wet and will fade over time, but pretty much once you stamp the image, it is dry. What I would recommend is an archival dye, like Memories ink. It's a dye ink, but permanent and fade resistant, but will dry immediately.

As for cleaners, use whatever you have handy! For the most part, I'll just use water and a rag. The special stamp cleaners are nice, but not all that necessary. I will use them every once in awhile to deep clean my stamps.

Have fun!

PS: Stamping is messy. Just bacause a stamp is stained does not mean it's runined. So long as you clean it and get all the ink off, all should be well--you can always test it out first, especially if you go from a dark ink to a lighter one. Just make sure your stamp is clean.

The inks can all stain. Just make sure you clean them with the right stuff--staz-on cleaner will take everything off but some people have reported that it dissolved their stamps. I have not had any problems yet. I prefer dye based inks but there are times when Staz-On and pigment inks are needed. I say get a variety if you are considering doing alot of stamping.

hmmm. I've been using Staz-On ink on my paper with clear stamps and haven't had a problem with staining. I just use either a baby wipe, or a wet cloth. Let us know how it goes!!!

i have also heard not to buy the baby wipes with the '???' in them. i do not own any stamps and have not used any yet, but i think i read on another thread that it was.. alcohol, maybe? something along those lines that could maybe dry up or somehow damage acrylic stamps...

Personally, I like pigment inks. I find that dye inks are not opaque enough. They do take a while to dry, but patience is a virtue.

Yes, it's alcohol that you want to avoid in the baby wipes. It'll dry out your stamps and then they can crack (at least rubber stamps, I'm guessing the same with acrylic).

I have stained my clear stamps up so much--anything that has red as a part of it stains them really easily. You know, I actually like them that way better! I can see where I'm stamping even easier. I am very partial to the SU stamp spray and cleaner myself for cleaning the stamps.

As for pigment or dye, I use mostly dye for the drying time, but I also do embossing so I have some pigment also. I know the dye inks I have aren't necessarily water-proof or fade proof, but I'm not letting my albums take a shower or sunbathe so I guess I'm not too concerned. (I know, I know, it may fade anyway...just making a point. )

I have Staz-on too, but honestly I rarely use it. It's a must-have if you're working with transparencies or stamping on glossy photos though.

Those Autumn Leaves stamps are the best! They were the first clear stamps I got and I love them!

Honestly, I'd try both. I have dye inks, pigment inks and Staz On and use them for different purposes. I've found that dye inks dry quick and almost never stain my clear stamps, but they also don't leave as crisp an image and I've never been able to find a clear, crisp, "dark" black or "bright" white dye ink. When it's black or white I'm looking for (on porous surfaces like paper) I reach for my pigment inks. Pigment inks take longer to dry but leave a crisp image. And they always, always stain my stamps. Staz On is wonderful if you want to stamp on glossy or coated surfaces like transparencies, photos, glass, plastic etc. They dry almost immediately and leave a real crisp image. They always stain the stamp though. As ugly as a stained stamp may look, it doesn't affect the stamp or the stamped image. In terms of cleanup, I've always just used water or water and a little hand soap.

If you want something other than very basic colours of permanent ink, look at Ancient Page and Ranger's line of Archivals -- lots more colour choices than StazOn alone. I've got a pretty hefty collection of all three.

Holtz's Distress Inks DO bead up on acrylic, no matter how much you condition them -- they're supposed to do that, in a way, to give an antique, softer, aged look to stamping with this ink.

Don't neglect fluid chalk inks in thinking about this, either. They give a softer, flatter look when dry than most inks, almost powdery. They come in just as full a colour range as other inks.

I use almost all CTMH ink pads. They're pigment. They leave a crisp image but take seconds to dry! Plus, they come in TONS of colors! I've tried other inks (especially when HL had 50% sales) and the quality was noticeably lower. I also use the CTMH stamp scrubber and cleaning spray. They work wonderfully to get the ink off (but the reds and purples still stain). Also, some stamps (can't remember what brand but they're at HL) will naturally turn yellow with age....it's simply the formulation of the stamp itself. Many higher quality brands (CTMH, SU, Etc) won't do this (although some older versions did).

Definitely don't use any alcohol on acrylic stamps since it'll dry them out terribly.