ink pads for scrapbooking

Does anyone know what the best ink pads for scrapbooking are? I heard that Stampin' Up did not get good reviews on this, and that CTMH is better. OK consultants, I need your advice on this bc I want to buy ink pads from SU at a party tomorrow!!!!!

I'd think both are OK~ I can vouch for CTMH though. Ask a SU demonstrator or visit the website.

I can vouch for SU. I have several of their ink pads.

I ended up getting the craft stampin' spots and a black craft pad. It takes a really long time for the ink to dry, though, and if you're not careful you could smear it. I am not good with this kind of stuff, so I hope I don't ruin any pages! I usually stamp on something, then adhere it to the page, because I am afraid to make a mistake. So as long as I keep doing that, if I smear it I can stamp another one!

I love SU and I use the Tim Holtz pads also. I have alot of CTMH from a sale they had. I am sure there are bugs in all the companies but so far, I have not met an ink pad that was consistently bad. susan a

I'm just worried about the longevity of it, fading.

• the collector Said:

If it takes a lomg time to dry, is it pigment ink that you bought? If so, that can be dried quickly with a heat gun and even a blow dryer (takes a little longer with the blow dryer). Pigment ink and chalk ink need to be heat set. Once set, they don't smear

The SU craft pads are pigment so they're great as far as fade-resistance and acid-free properties. But they do need to be heat set (or left alone to dry for a really long time.) Using a heat tool might warp your paper if you're not careful.
I'd suggest the Palette hybrid inkpads. They're fade-resistant, water-resistant, acid-free like a pigment ink but they dry almost on contact like a dye-ink. (They can be used on non-porous surfaces too, but then they'd need to be heat set.) HTH

The SU pads are great for scrapbooking - the Crafts are recommended because the colors will last. They do take more time to dry - so I just use my heat tool. I use the classic inks for my cards & tags.

I love my craft spots, have three sets--use them on just about every lo, though more often to ink edges than to stamp and emboss.

Craft spots are great!! Love them too - I have all 4 sets and use them all of the time.

I love the craft spots.....

Tim Holtz ...Tim Holtz...Tim Holtz!
Absolute Favs!

• Beth1019 Said:

I had heard this as well, but not about using the heat tool. I'll have to practice a bit before I try it on an actual lo so I know what happens (warping).

Thanks so much for all of your comments ladies!!

It won't warp because you are just heat setting it - not going over and over like you would with embossing. Just a quick pass by with your heat tool will dry it.

the craft inks are pigment inks. I will tell you this- they are NOT necessary. Your ink is only gonna fade if that page is open in the light day in and day out 24/7 for months and months. Is that gonna happen?

I reccomend for any scrapper/stamper the palette hybrid inks. they work on paper, wood, fabric, glass and are easy to use (dry quickly).

I LOVE my Tim Holtz Distressing Ink pads for scrapbooking! There is no other for me!

I only have CTMH ink pads.. I bought some of my cousins old pads when they switched to the new style and they are just fine. No dry outs or anything. I also had some of the other pads from like M's and I didnt really like them as much. They were sorta mushey. The CTMH pads are firmer and I prefer that.

I like Tim Holtz pads too but if you are stamping and need crisp images, they aren't for that.

here's a tip for the distressing:
get a sheet of cut n dry foam. Cut little squares to fit bottle lids, and glue on. I have one for each color of distress ink. Ink these with the ink pad and use them to distress your paper. gives much softer edges.

I like my SU pads - have had them for many years - they work great and haven't had to re-ink them yet!!

I almost exclusively use CTMH--love the creaminess of the ink--I get great images every time.

I may try the CTMH ones, but I had hoped to get paper to match the inks, and they are so expensive. Plus my consultant is not nearby. My SU connection is next door!

That is too bad--that is why I became a consultant--to get the discount!

What are the palette hybrid inks people are talking about?

Palette inks are hybrid inks which is a dye/pigment mix (see above post)
They have 36 colors which come in full size pads or they're sold in 4 packs of ink spots. (All named after famous painters... ex. the Van Gogh set has Starry Night (blue), Sunflower (yellow), L'Amore Red, and Viridian Leaf (green).
PM me if you need more info!

I will also add if you are looking for a great ink to do the edges or make things look vintage I will have to say I love my Nic bantok ink. It is something I could not scrap without.

Can any one tell me the difference in stamp pads from pigment to dye and so forth?

Pigment inks are more permanent. Against water, light, temp exposure...but then again, if a scrapbook or card is getting that sort of treatment - your paper is probably going to go bad anyway.

I think "dye" is just water based. So if you did a stamp, then tried to water-color inside it, you'd lose the intergrity of the original stamped image & it might get runny.

I have only purchased SU ink pads (b/c my SU rep is a few houses down!). She is very good about letting me know when another product that might be cheaper works just as well - and so far, we still only use SU ink pads. I use the regular, b/c as someone else pointed out, your colors are not going to fade if you aren't leaving your stuff exposed to extreme temps or sun or something.

We sometimes use STAZON pads for certain projects - like when we did a faux pearl technique w/ a stamped image. I haven't noticed the craft pads take longer to dry. I am using SU cardstock w/ them - maybe it's the type of paper. I know that some scrap paper looks less porous (sp?) to me...and I tried to use a marker once - and the ink smeared. I wouldn't say the scrap paper is "glossy" (like a photo), but it deffinately has some sort of 'sheen' to it.

If you stamped the craft ink onto cardstock first, it might dry more quickly. I use the regular (Classic) ink - so I never have a problem with dry times. I think my gallery has a page with a classic stamp & a craft stamp image example. I smudged my craft (Whisper White) stamp just a little b/c I pressed too hard, but the classic (basic black) was fine. I used pencils to color the image.

It will probably end up being a personal preference sort of thing. You have to decide if you'd rather wait on the dry time - or possibly lose color over time. My SU rep has stuff that's almost 10 years old - it looks fine so far.

I just ordered some stampin' spots, I use Tim Holtz , but MY FAVORITE inks these days are: COLORBOX CHALK INK PADS!!!! They are so much fun! go to clearsnap.com to check them out! I don't know if sb.com sells them!

The stampin spots are great for scrappbooking because you get a whole bunch of color families in one box and they are small to tote to crops. I have purchased two sets of those from SU. I also like the chalk inks by colorbox because of the look you get with them. If you need to stamp over pp they look really coool

• ScrappinAngler Said:

Forgot about these...I like them, too.

I love the Colorbox chalk pads, too!

Got my SU order today. I'm going to play with my spots tomorrow to see if I should get classic next time or stick with the craft. The dry time on vellum with craft ink is way too long. It'll have to be heat set.

My CM consultant recommends the craft for scrapbooking. Why take a chance on your memories that you want to last for 100 years?