Inks Info


What are the different components of inks?

There are two main components to every ink, colorant and carrier. The colorant makes your paper change color, while the carrier is a liquid that transfers the colorant from your tool to your project. The liquid then evaporates and leaves the color behind.
Colorants come as dyes or pigments.
Dyes soak into the paper and change its color, while pigments sit on top of the surface and hide the color of the surface underneath. Dyes tend to dry faster because they bind with the paper. Pigments dry slowly since they are thicker and sit on top.
Dye-based ink pads are usually made of felt and have a thinner consistency, which is great for detailed stamping. Pigment-based ink pads are typically made with sponge or foam pads and are of more vibrant color. The thicker consistency makes the slow drying ink great of embossing powder.
Carriers come as water or solvent liquids.
The carrier keeps the ink liquid until applied to a surface. Once evaporated, it leaves the dye or pigment behind.  Solvent-base inks usually tend to have a rubbing alcohol-type smell, while water-based inks have no odor.

Why is this important to know you ask?

You can apply any of these inks to a porous surface like uncoated paper. Stamping on nonporous surfaces like acrylic, metal or glossy paper water-based inks will not work. 

Which ink products does Close to My Heart offer?

First, check out the new magnetic Exclusive Ink® pads from Close to My Heart. They store the inks always close to the surface and they give you the best coverage on your stamps and they are super easy to open and close.

Second, here are the pros and cons of different type of inks:

The Exclusive Inks®

come in a variety of colors
are water-based dye inks
dye ink absorbs directly into your paper and allows the colors to blend easily with the material
dry quickly on porous surfaces
use a felt pad for crisp impressions
blend with water brushes or blending pens
use regular stamp cleaner with this ink
these inks are recommended for most stamping projects
They are not for projects where you plan to use watercolors or coloring with alcohol markers after stamping the image

Pigment Exclusive Inks®

come in colors White Daisy,  and a few other colors
are water-based pigment inks
These inks settle on top of your material rather than soaking into it
This allows you to stamp lighter colors on darker materials
dry slowly on surfaces
use a foam pad and therefore the impression is not as clear
will show up on darker paper (awesome)
once dry they work well for coloring in with your markers or watercolor inks
the pigment inks will form a permanent bond with your paper and will resist blending when you color over them
always shake re-inker before applying on ink pad
wash stamp under warm water first, then use regular stamp cleaner

Archival Black Exclusive Ink 
      is an archival ink pad
dries quickly
can be used with your watercolor pencils, watercolors or water-based inks with the blending pen
this ink will not retire, please contact me for more information

Intense Black Ink

The Intense Black ink pad gives you another archival quality ink
works for any stamping project
can be used with alcohol markers
can be used with watercolors
or any other coloring option
drys quickly
make sure to close the lid when not been used
regular stamp cleaner
Please contact me for more information

StazOn Inks

      come in different colors
are dye-based and solvent-based
dry quickly on all surfaces including nonporous
permanent inks, archival and water resistant
these inks can dry out quick, therefore keep the included inner plastic liner on the pad
great for water coloring since the image stamp will not bleed
do not use with alcohol markers, since the alcohol will dissolve the stamped image (use the CTMH Intense Black Ink instead)
Clear impression on all surfaces except paper
only use special StazOn stamp cleaner….. this ink is no longer in out catalogs but I thought I mentioned the use of it here too.    
This ink will for sure stain your stamps and over time will make your polymer and rubber stamps dry.                                                                                                                 


VersaMark

is a clear pigment-based ink
dries slowly on all surfaces
can be used as a watermark on colored paper
acts like a glue for embossing or chalk powder