Re-inking my stamp pads

[davechan2003]

Hi Ladies,

I finally ordered ink refills for my stamp pads. How much should I use? How "juicy" should the pad be? Is it just a matter of personal preference? Do I just pour the re-inker all over the pad?

Any thoughts or advice for me?

Thanks!

[row4d]

There's a bit of personal preference involved, but a good rule of thumb is to stop adding ink when it no longer soaks in immediately like you're watering a bone-dry houseplant. I know it's time to reink my pad when I really have to work to get coverage on the rubber so that there isn't a lot of white paper showing through the stamped image. Also, the edges of the ink pad will begin to pull up out of the plastic casing, presumably as the fibers shrink up from drying out.

I like to draw lines across the surface, first horizontally then vertically. This helps me to get good, even ink coverage. Depending on how dry your pad was to begin with, it will usually take roughly 1/4 or so of the bottle. It sometimes helps to close your ink pad and let it sit for a couple of hours before you use it again, so that the ink can soak all through the pad. Occasionally when I use a pad right after reinking the surface is a bit too juicy and the color comes out too dark.

[Harmony60]

Somewhere I read about possily using the side of an expired credit card or hotel room card to gently "squeegee" across the pad after inking to distribute the ink inside evenly. Anyone know about this, tried it, recommend or not recommend?

[Mahloumel]

That credit card method sounds more like something that you would do to spread pigment ink on a foam pad.

[Madle's mom]

I use pour 6-8 drops all over the pad. If you use anymore than that it takes forever to dry because of the build up of ink. I did that once with red ink and thought it would never dry!