Best Ink for Clear Stamps?

I have tried numerous kinds of ink on my clear acrylic stamps and they all seem to bead up like water on a polished car. Of course this results in a less than great image.

Help! Which ink works best?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Not all clear stamps are created equal - some just do not take ink well. For those particularly troublesome stamps, pigment ink should work. It's a thicker ink that doesn't bead up like dye inks do. Hybrid inks will also usually work. I stamp with chalk inks as well with great success. They have a thicker coverage as well. I've seen many people stating that chalk inks will not work for stamping, but I do it all the time

Sometimes, clear stamps have a bit of a film on them from production and it can be taken off by either washing with soap and water or with an eraser. Some people use sandpaper, but this can ruin some stamps as it makes small tears.

Thank you so much for posting this question. I have the same problem! I have also found that some stamps will show the texture of the stamp pad.

I use Momento Ink pads they don't stain the stamps like some of the others.

two things,,,

use an eraser on stamps if the ink beads up,,,

and two,,,,use GOOD INK. It's worth every penny,,,,it's cheaper in the long run. I especially love memento and veresamark. Versamark is oil based, so it's a bit thicker and more vibrant, IMHO.

every stamp I own is stained makes it easier to see the design on them (might as well look at the bright side!)

It's not necessarily a "good" ink vs. "bad" ink thing. I have a few brands of stamps that don't work with Stampin' Up!, Memento, CTMH, etc. The material that the stamps are made of just appears to not take ink easily, unfortunately. With those stamps, pigment ink and chalk ink works wonderfully. It's usually the lower quality stamps that this happens with.

I find that cheap ink tends to be,,,,cheap. It doesn't stamp as well,,,,,,and the image isn't as crisp and clear. but maybe it's just my perception.

by "cheap" do you mean non-name brand or store brand inks?

Another thing to do with stamps that don't stamp well is to stamp a few times with staz on.....yest it will stain your stamp but it leaves a film on the stamp that helps the stamp to hold other ink better.

Hopefully this will answer your question. I just watched these last night. When I saw your question I thought, "OMG I just learned that!". One of these questions specifically talks about your problem. Hope it helps!

http://www.scrapbook.com/videos/887.html
http://www.scrapbook.com/videos/529.html

might be the stamp vs. the ink. I love colorbox the best and Tim Holtz

Here is what is perplexing me - today I was using brand new Stampin Up CRAFT ink spots, which I understood to be Pignment, but it was still beading up. That's why I'm so baffled! Thanks for the tips, keep 'em comin'!

• Here Kitty Said:

I mean the stuff that comes out of the dollar bins

It's not that I do not HAVE any cheap ink,,,I use it for colors I need so rarely,,like orange. I never use orange ink,,,so I have a little 1$ orange ink, just in case

I like memento the best.

• CommaHolly Said:

Besides, Tim Holtz doesn't clean his stamps, and I want to be like Tim Holtz

Another trick you can try is to stamp first in VersaMark and then into the ink you want to use. This works especially well if you want to use a dye based ink. The problem is usually with stamps that are not made from photopolymer resin and are usually vinyl or silicone. I found (by accident) also, to stamp it in VersaMark and leave it to dry. This works the same as stamping in Stazon and leaving it to dry. The reason I like the Versamark is because it doesn't leave any colour behind.

I love my Momento inks with clear stamps, but one of the surprises I found as far as inks is the Studio G line of inks at Michaels. They work amazingly well with clear stamps since they're meant to work with their cheapy clear stamps. I love them and they're so inexpensive ($1.50 in Canada - probably still $1.00 in the US).

I was told by a Close to My Heart Rep that you need to rub new stamps on your arm to "prep" them to take ink. So maybe it is not the ink but the stamp still has a film on it from processing.

This is a great question, I have several cheap stamps that I love, but they don't ink well. I will try some different inks!!!

• DaNel Hicks Said:

If they're photopolymer stamps (which CTMH stamps are) there won't be a processing film left since these types of stamps are made by hardening the resin with a light source instead of the other types of stamps which are moulded (therefore, need a release agent so that they come out of the mould and that will leave a residue on the stamp). I've never had a problem with CTMH stamps accepting any kind of ink right out of the package.