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I love the idea of clear stamps, but I am having trouble actually stamping with them. When I ink the stamps, the ink beads up into little balls and I can't get a smooth impression.
I think this is with Inkadinkado clear stamps that I am having the problem.
I have buffed it on paper to try and make sure there is no residue. Any ideas??? I was thinking about inking it with stazon and just letting it dry on the stamp, to give the dye inks something to hang on to!
Hi lynne! I had this problem when I first started using inks and stamping. What I have found that works for me is to wash the stamps with soap and water before using them. Another thing I did immediately was went out and bought better ink to use with my clear stamps as recommended here in another thread. Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink and Versafine Onyx Black. BIG DIFFERENCE in how they stamped. If your wanting to use colored inks to stamp with, you may want to try using an eraser on them. It's best to wash them though when you first get them to get any residue and oils that might still be on them from the factory. HTH!!
This is one (of the many) reasons I don't like acrylic stamps. Anyway... I find that if I rub a white eraser on the stamps, this helps remove any of the manufacturing residue left on them and this makes a big difference. Also, if you ink it up, stamp on scrap paper, repeat, repeat, repeat a few times, this will help condition the stamp and it will take ink better.
I find that pigment and chalk inks work better than dye inks because the ink will cling to the stamp better. But I would not suggest that you use stazon and let it dry on there. There is a lot of talk that the solvent in stazon eventually eats away at the polymers and will shorten the life of your stamps.
I love the idea of clear stamps, but I am having trouble actually stamping with them. When I ink the stamps, the ink beads up into little balls and I can't get a smooth impression.
I think this is with Inkadinkado clear stamps that I am having the problem.
I have buffed it on paper to try and make sure there is no residue. Any ideas??? I was thinking about inking it with stazon and just letting it dry on the stamp, to give the dye inks something to hang on to!
HELP!
Lynne :confused:
A manufacturer in the UK gave me this advice and it works very well for me.
She told me to GENTLY rub the surface on the stamp with an emery board to take off the shine. Do this ONLY before you use the stamp the VERY FIRST TIME! No need to keep doing it every time you use the stamp.
I usually do this, ink the stamp and stamp the image to see if I did it well enough. If I still get "beading" or uneven coverage (especially with a solid image), I use the emery board again. This usually does the trick.
Just be sure not to go overboard and "sand" away your whole stamp!
I never tried the emery board.. thanks for the tip. I have tried the eraser, and had no luck. So now when I need to use a clear stamp, I use the Pallette Hybrid inks. They work like a charm on the clear stamps.. from the very first image on.
I find that I generally don't have this problem if I use chalk inks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lynnephelps
I love the idea of clear stamps, but I am having trouble actually stamping with them. When I ink the stamps, the ink beads up into little balls and I can't get a smooth impression.
I think this is with Inkadinkado clear stamps that I am having the problem.
I have buffed it on paper to try and make sure there is no residue. Any ideas??? I was thinking about inking it with stazon and just letting it dry on the stamp, to give the dye inks something to hang on to!
HELP!
Lynne :confused:
__________________ I DID learn everything I need to know in Kindergarten!
I always use a white eraser or a very fine sandpaper on them until they turn cloudy. They hold ink perfectly. I prefer the sandpaper as the eraser leaves little shreds of it.
Thanks for all these replies - SplitCoast Stampers is such a GREAT resource!
First, I do a lot of clear embossing, and I am using VersaMark first, then a dye ink on the stamp, and still getting lots of beading. I should have said that in the first post.
I have washed all my clear sets with Dawn dishwashing liquid. I chose that because it is such a good degreaser, and the new stamps do have a slightly oily feel when fresh out of the package. I actually left them attached to the base sheet while I did this. For anyone else - a word from the wise: Do this on the NON-garbage disposal side of your kitchen sink, in case you lose one... ;)
That has helped a little bit on some and a lot on others. I am going to try the white eraser idea next.
I am a little afraid of the emery board idea, as most of these are solid images. Do you have any problems with introducing scratches into the solid images? I would want to inadvertently wind up with "distressed" looking stamps! Are we talking fingernail file, or sanding blocks like they sell for shrink plastic? Or is it fine sandpaper from the hardware store?
This is the reason I tend to stay away from Inkadinkado stamps as much as I like their images. I think they are made of vinyl, not polymer. You can use chalk ink, but I find the ink to be a little thick. The best solution is Versafine ink. Perfect, detailed images every time.
Thanks for all these replies - SplitCoast Stampers is such a GREAT resource!
First, I do a lot of clear embossing, and I am using VersaMark first, then a dye ink on the stamp, and still getting lots of beading. I should have said that in the first post.
I have washed all my clear sets with Dawn dishwashing liquid. I chose that because it is such a good degreaser, and the new stamps do have a slightly oily feel when fresh out of the package. I actually left them attached to the base sheet while I did this. For anyone else - a word from the wise: Do this on the NON-garbage disposal side of your kitchen sink, in case you lose one... ;)
That has helped a little bit on some and a lot on others. I am going to try the white eraser idea next.
I am a little afraid of the emery board idea, as most of these are solid images. Do you have any problems with introducing scratches into the solid images? I would want to inadvertently wind up with "distressed" looking stamps! Are we talking fingernail file, or sanding blocks like they sell for shrink plastic? Or is it fine sandpaper from the hardware store?
Feel free to be EXTREMELY specific!!
Thanks, Lynne
The emery board I use is a regular one for fingernails. I use Revlon but I do not think it really matters. I use the fine side which is the one without the writing on it.
Do not go "ALL OUT" and sand like there is "No tomorrow" LOL!
I just go GENTLY on the surface so that it does not look shiny anymore. Then I clean off the surface with a damp paper towel so that the grit from the emery board is removed. You will then see the difference between the stamps you have done this to and all the rest. The one you used the emery board on will look dull, not shiny or you might say cloudy. I do it to the solid stamps, especially. If you go gently, you will see little lines (sort of a scratch line ) but it never came out on the paper that I stamped. Sometimes it does not get rid of all the beading on the first try. So I try again. I do this as soon as I get a new clear stamp and test it out on scrap paper. This way I can store it and know that it is ready whenever I need it. :-D
Hope this helps a little more and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. :-D
I have not bought any Palette stamp pads yet as I have not seen re-inkers. I am always afraid of running dry if I don't have a re-inker. Am I missing something, or do they just not offer refills for those pads?
I started sanding my clear stamps with a foot sander, and it has made all the difference in the world.
I didn't like using an eraser because it just made a mess when I did.
I needed to make a card on night and couldn't find any sand paper, but I found my pedicure kit and it had one of those foot smoother with a handle. Works like a charm and now that baby lives on my craft desk!
Mine looks a lot like the pic below, but mine isn't as colorful.
I always use a white eraser or a very fine sandpaper on them until they turn cloudy. They hold ink perfectly. I prefer the sandpaper as the eraser leaves little shreds of it.
I use this same technique and it works great. Once I have used the eraser on them, I clean them on a stamp scrubber to remove all the eraser rubbings. Once I have finished cleaning all the stamps, I just rinse the scrubber under running water and that seems to remove all the eraser remains.
Thanks for all these replies - SplitCoast Stampers is such a GREAT resource!
First, I do a lot of clear embossing, and I am using VersaMark first, then a dye ink on the stamp, and still getting lots of beading. I should have said that in the first post.
I have washed all my clear sets with Dawn dishwashing liquid. I chose that because it is such a good degreaser, and the new stamps do have a slightly oily feel when fresh out of the package. I actually left them attached to the base sheet while I did this. For anyone else - a word from the wise: Do this on the NON-garbage disposal side of your kitchen sink, in case you lose one... ;)
That has helped a little bit on some and a lot on others. I am going to try the white eraser idea next.
I am a little afraid of the emery board idea, as most of these are solid images. Do you have any problems with introducing scratches into the solid images? I would want to inadvertently wind up with "distressed" looking stamps! Are we talking fingernail file, or sanding blocks like they sell for shrink plastic? Or is it fine sandpaper from the hardware store?
Feel free to be EXTREMELY specific!!
Thanks, Lynne
Us a strainer when washing them in the sink. I always use a fine sand paper even on the solid images. Just goe over it lightly until it looks cloudy. They always stamp perfect after that for me.
Thank you for the tips about new stamps beading up when inked. I'm a newbie to cardmaking and am loving this new (to me) technique. BTW my background is china painting plus I am a master porcelain doll artist. Working with paper is FUN! So much to learn from this forum.
HELP - ink beading on clear stamps
Making progress!
