Wednesday, August 1, 2012

How To Stamp Artwork-Part 3 of 4


What type of ink should I use?


I’m going to cheat on this one.  Close To My Heart is such a wonderful company to belong to.  They have already put out a great explanation to all of us consultants, so I’m sharing with you.  

 
There are many different types of inks available in the paper crafting industry.  Inks are typically classified as a “dye” or a “pigment,” and can also be described as “water-based” or “solvent-based.”

 
Dye Ink: Dye inks are produced in such a way that they can achieve a broader and more vivid range of colors than pigment inks. Dye inks absorb directly into the paper or fabric that they are applied to, so the ink color blends more easily with the material it is used on.

Pigment Ink: In contrast, pigment inks have larger particles so that they “settle” on the top of paper and fabrics instead of soaking into and blending with the color of the material they are applied to.  Since this property allows those pale colors to appear opaque on colored or bright papers. (Depending on how thickly you apply the pigment ink to your project, it may take a few stampings to get a solid true-color on your project.) Pigment inks take longer to dry. 

Water-based Ink: Water-based inks (also called aqueous inks) are inks that dissolve in water and are excellent to use in watercolor projects. This is especially easy to do when you use the waterbrush (filled with water) and/or a blending pen. 

Solvent-based Ink: Solvent-based inks are inks that dissolve in solvent. Solvent-based inks separate from water just like oil does, so these inks are best used for putting down an image that you do not want to be disturbed by water coloring. As an example, you could use the Black StazOn® ink to stamp an outline stamp, let it dry, then use the Exclusive Inks® markers and waterbrush to fill the stamp image in. The StazOn® ink will not run or bleed while you watercolor it in. 

Alcohol-based Ink: The advantage of alcohol-based markers compared to water-based markers is that the alcohol dries quickly; therefore, you retain the color of the marker regardless of how many times you color over it, making blending the edges of two similar shades possible. Each layer of color is retained allowing you to shade and highlight without changing the tone or color into a different color; red remains red, yellow remains yellow. 

Watermark Ink: Watermark ink is a special formula specifically designed for giving papers a “water saturated” look where they are stamped. Watermarking as a technique does not work well on Close To My Heart paper. Because the ink is sticky before it dries, you can use it to add some embellishment to your project by stamping an image in it, then sprinkling prisma glitter, Fun Flock, or embossing powder over top. (As a note, embossing powder needs to be heat-set afterward in order to achieve the shiny embossed look.) 



I hope this information has helped you know which type of ink to use for your project.

The last part of this 4 part lesson is:  How do I stamp an image?  I know it sounds pretty obvious, and it is, but I will show you some different stamping techniques too!






2 comments:

  1. I like this series of posts about artwork. Clever and helpful! :-)

    Hugs,
    B

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  2. Thank You! I'm just getting started, but there is more to come:) Thanks for following me!!!

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