Clear stamps-Which ink the best?

[Kannadyjka]

Hi, I have until now bad experience with the clear stamps. I'm using SU inks for them, but somehow the imprint does not look good. Which ink is the best to get very nice imprint of the clear stamp?

Thanks for your advices,
kannadyjka

[contrapat]

I'm subbing for the answers! I have some clear stamps that just don't stamp a good image, is it me or the ink or the stamp?

[allee's]

My favorites are Memento and Versafine.

[buggainok]

I have a lot of clear stamps and use Versafine Onyx pigment ink. It is a lovely dark black and I use it for both clear and rubber stamps. It is not very expensive, and you can usually find it at Michaels, or many places online.

[scrappingdragon]

i use stazon on all my stamps , love it :-)

[stampertammy]

I'm with Lynn... Memento inks are fabulous, and Versafine inks are wonderful on any images. Both brands are made by Tsukineko. Give Kitchen Sink Stamps a try sometime... they take any ink beautifully!

[superjen]

Thanks for the advice, ladies.

[bemusedart]

I have noticed the same thing with some of my clear stamps. I am new to all this, and was wondering if I was doing something wrong. Using the Momento Tuxedo black my studio g stamps had the ink bead up on the stamps and then they stamped a charcoal gray on white card stock. But using my Queen Kat Design stamps, same ink and same white card stock, the ink was even on the stamp and the impression was a beautiful clear black.
Being a newbie at this and not having a large selection, I haven't tried any other brands of stamps at this time. But I did notice that the two brands had different feels to the stamps themselves. Does that play a part? Is there some sort of prep that I need to do to the studio g stamps to get a clearer image or a different ink? The QKD stamps are heavier and have a slightly sticky feel to them.
I should probably try out some other brands of inks and stamps to see how they compare.

[taniwolf]

Hi. I use Memento when stamping with clear stamps.

But i found if you use a chalk ink first before the Memento, it will stamp better.

Also rubbing the stamp with an eraser first will help it stamp better.

hope this helps.

[Scrappy48]

I have several sets of clear stamps and have found Tsuineko Brilliance & StazOn, Ancient Page, Colorbox all work really nice.

[katz_r_us]

I've noticed this with certain brands of clear stamps. When I first ink them up, if this happens, I condition the stamps. First, try an eraser just rubbed over the surface of the stamps. It works most of the time. If not, try to lightly sand the surface with a fine grit paper. Some stamp companies advise these measures right on their packaging.

Either of these methods should fix most problems. But if there is still a problem, all those inks mentioned above are advisable and work well with clear stamps. Using dye inks tends to be more of a problem with problem stamps. Another thing you can try, ink them first in Versmark, before using the dye ink. Of course, that will make your ink drying time longer, and you might want to use a heat tool to speed it up. Hope that helps

[justwritedesigns]

I have tons of clear stamps. All brands. Some work well w/ almost any ink, and some don't. I've done the eraser thing, the inking w/ VersaMark first then the dye ink. But it just seemed like a lot of trouble to me. Most of the stamps I have problems w/ are the $ variety.

When trying out all my inks, by accident I found that Ranger Archival stamped all of them perfectly! Don't know why, but it does. Every time. I like it because it's permanent and I can use water colors or blenders w/ it and it doesn't bleed. But I'm really happy that all I have to do is ink the stamp and go.

HTH

[MsRabbott]

Every stamp set I buy, before I use it for the first time I take an emery board to it. Not hard enough to mark the surface of the stamp, but just enough to take the shine off of it. It's the same theory as using an eraser, but I found that wasn't strong enough for a good portion of my stamps. Every stamp I've done this with works great with all my inks: SU!, CTMH, Versa's, anything and everything. Give it a shot, believe me, it takes some real effort to ruin your stamp with an emery board, so don't be shy!

[jexterra]

I find that Memento inks work best for me, they cover the stamp so nicely too, no need to dab multiple times to make sure your image is covered. :-)

[Omelia1]

I use clear stamps on a daily basis and i have learned that you have to ink them a few times and dab on scratch paper. This seems to season the stamp a bit. I use CTMH and SU ink pads and they work fine if I follow the "seasoning" step. Hope this helps