Do you have a whole lot of different inks, but you are not sure how to use them? This is one of my biggest challenges while scrapbooking or crafting. Most of the time I will need a specific colour of ink to match my paper and I have a specific ink technique in mind but might not have the recommended ink in the correct colour. I have found that the best way to find out how I can use my inks is playing with my inks!
The question is: Can different inks be used for the same techniques?
In the next couple of blogs, I will be playing with all the different inks I own to see what they can do. I have realised that the only way to get to know your products is to test them out for yourself!
I will be testing the following inks:
- Alcohol Ink and Alcohol Pearl ink (Ranger)
- All Purpose Ink (Tuskineko)
- Archival Ink (Ranger)
- Brilliance Ink (Tsukineko)
- Delicata Ink (Tsukineko)
- Distress Ink (Ranger)
- Distress Oxide Ink (Ranger)
- Gelatos (Faber-Castell)
- Memento Ink (Tsukineko)
- Stazon Ink (Tuskineko)
- VersaFine Ink (Tsukineko)
- VersaFine Clair Ink (Tsukineko)
- VersaMagic Ink (Tsukineko)
These inks were not included in the original tests, but I tested them later using the same tests:
- Wendy Vecchi Make Art Blendable Dye Ink (Ranger)
- Memento Luxe Ink (Tsukineko)
- Stazon Pigment Ink (Tsukineko)
- Artistry Ink (Shilpi)
I decided on a couple of tests based on techniques I often use on my scrapbook pages and craft projects.
The tests will answer the following questions:
- Is it a pigment or dye ink?
- Is this ink water- or solvent-based?
- Can you stamp with this ink?
- Does it give a solid image when stamped?
- Is it shiny?
- Can I use it to paint with?
- Can I use it to chalk around the edges of a page or element?
- Can I blend with it?
- Can I use it to make “splats” on my page?
- Will I be able to use it with a stencil?
- Can it be used to colour pastes or gels?
- Can I use it on a glossy surface like a photo?
- How does it show up on dark surfaces?
- Can I use it for heat embossing?
How and why will we test for each of these questions?
1. Is it a pigment or dye ink?
To establish if an ink is a pigment or a dye ink, the best way is to read the label on the packaging or by looking at the ink when stamped.
With a dye ink the colour particles are completely dissolved in a liquid (water, oil or alcohol). This means that the colour will absorb into the paper with the liquid part of the ink.
A pigment ink consists of fine colour particles (pigments) suspended in the liquid (water, oil or alcohol). The colour particles stay on top of the paper when the ink is used.
Is it a pigment or dye ink? – Results
2. Is this ink water-based or solvent-based?
Let’s first determine what WATER-based or SOLVENT-based means (I have been confused by this for some time now).
In normal chemistry terms, a SOLVENT is able to dissolve other substances and it is usually a liquid. The most common solvent is water!
When we talk about inks though, SOLVENT-based means the colour is dissolved in something other than water, like oil or alcohol. Most solvent-based inks are actually oil-based.
Now some more chemistry: alcohol and water can mix (think fancy drinks), alcohol (especially isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol as it is commonly known) can dissolve oils and lastly, water and oil do not mix.
This is why we want to know if inks are water-based or solvent-based. It will give us an indication of how we can expect an ink to react.
Look at the label
Firstly, look at the label. Most of the time it will give us an indication. It can say water-based, solvent-based or oil-based. Usually if an ink is solvent-based and waterproof, we can assume that it is an oil-based solvent ink (remember oil and water do not mix!).
Test it
We can also test to see if an ink is water-based, or an oil-based solvent ink. Just put some ink down on a craft matt and add some water:
Remember that alcohol ink will also mix with water:
Why do we want to know?
We want to know if an ink is water-based or solvent-based so that we can know how it can be used. A water-based ink can be mixed with water. This will allow you to use it for various techniques that requires water. You can also use it with other solvent-based products like alcohol ink or Copic markers (for example) and the ink will not be moved by these solvent-based products, for example when you stamp an image with a water-based ink you can colour it with a Copic marker without changing the stamped image. (Please note: Even though water and alcohol can be mixed, alcohol does not move dried stamped images stamped with a water-based ink)
On the other hand, if you use a oil-based solvent ink to stamp, you can use any water-based ink to colour the stamped image, without moving the stamped image as oil-based solvent inks are not moved by water.
This is also good to know in order to know what product to use to clean your stamps or brushes with. Water-based products need to be cleaned with water or even a baby wipe. Solvent-based products need a special solvent-based stamp cleaner.
Is this ink water-based or solvent-based? – Results
3. Can you stamp with this ink?
To see if and how well an ink can stamp, just choose a stamp and stamp using the ink! If it is a liquid ink, like the All-purpose Ink, drop some on a craft sheet and apply it to the stamp with a dauber, blending tool or make-up sponge. I will be using the same stamp for all my tests in order to be able to compare the results.
Can you stamp with this ink? – Results
4. Does it give a solid image when stamped?
This largely depends if it is a pigment or dye ink. Dye inks tend to be more translucent than pigment inks. You will be able to see this when you stamp an image with this ink.
Does it give a solid image when stamped? – Results
5. Is it shiny?
It depends if the ink has a metallic pigment added to it. This can also be seen when you stamp with this ink or by just looking at the inkpad itself.
6. Can I use it to paint with?
We will be testing it with a water brush to see if it can paint like a watercolour paint. It should ideally be water-based in order to do this.
Can I use it to paint with? – Results
7. Can I use it to chalk around the edges of a page or element?
Just use the ink with a dauber, blending tool or make-up sponge to chalk around the edges of a page to see if it will work!
Can I use it to chalk around the edges of a page or element? -Results
8. Can I blend with it?
The blending I am referring to is blending with a blending tool (a dauber or make-up sponge could also be used). Best is just to try it out!
Can I blend with it? – Results
9. Can I use it to make “splats” on my page?
Making splats with a paintbrush on a page is one of my favourite techniques to create an interesting background or to add some extra interest to a project. To determine how well an ink will do this, you might have to press some ink on a craft sheet and add some water with a spray bottle and then make splats with a paintbrush. I prefer to use a fan paintbrush for this, but any brush will do.
Can I use it to make “splats” on my page? – Results
10. Will I be able to use it with a stencil?
Just take a stencil and try it out! I usually stamp (or drop) some ink on a craft sheet and then apply it through the stencil with either a dauber or a make-up sponge.
Will I be able to use it with a stencil? – Results
11. Can it be used to colour pastes or gels?
Something that is real fun to do is to colour the pastes and gels that we use in our mixed media techniques in order to customise these for our craft projects or scrapbook pages. For the purpose of these tests I will be trying to colour white gesso and gel medium to see if it works.
Can it be used to colour pastes or gels? – Results
12. Can I use it on a glossy surface like a photo?
Stamp with the ink on a glossy surface like photo paper and see how it goes. The most important thing is that it will dry properly and not affect the photo.
Can I use it on a glossy surface like a photo? – Results
13. How does it show up on dark surfaces?
Sometimes you want to stamp a word or an image on a dark piece of cardstock. It will be good to know which inks will work. Typically, it will be the pigment inks that should give the best results.
How does it show up on dark surfaces? – Results
14. Can I use it for heat embossing?
The best inks to use with heat embossing are inks that dry slowly, typically the pigment inks. I will be trying to do some heat embossing with each of the inks and see what happens!
Can I use it for heat embossing? – Results
RESULTS
I will be adding all the results to a table so that I can easily decide which ink I could use for a specific project.
I will be using some abbreviations for the inks just to save some space on the table:
VM – VersaMagic Ink (Tsukineko)
DO – Distress Oxide Ink (Ranger)
AP1 – All-Purpose Ink (Tsukineko)
AP2 – All-Purpose Ink (metallic) (Tsukineko)
B – Brilliance Ink (Tsukineko)
VF – VersaFine Ink (Tsukineko)
VFC – VersaFineClair Ink (Tsukineko)
ALCP – Alcohol Pearl Ink (Ranger)
GL2 – Gelatos (metallic) (Faber-Castell)
The following inks were not used for the original tests and does not appear in the table. You can add them manually. Their results were recorded in the results posts:
ML – Memento Luxe Ink (Tsukineko)
SNP – Stazon Pigment Ink (Tsukineko)
I might not have all the inks that you have, but I have left some extra space at the bottom and made the table downloadable so that you could test your own inks too!
PLEASE NOTE: All the opinions are my own. None of the products have been sponsored.