How to Choose the Best Rubber Stamp Ink Pad
To use most types of rubber stamps you need an ink pad. That sounds simple enough, but so with the variety of inks and options available, picking the right ink pad can feel overwhelming. This article aims to provide a clear, straightforward guide to choosing the best rubber stamp ink pad for your needs, and comparison tables for the some popular brands.
There are two main steps in choosing an ink pad. Start by answering the questions below about your project. This will give you a better idea what to look for in a quality ink pad. Then learn the two main differences in ink pads – dye vs pigment ink, and felt vs sponge pads for the ideal stamp impressions.
The Easy Way to Choose
If you don’t want to get into the details, two brands of ink handle most general purpose stamping needs. Ranger Archival ink pads for stamping on paper an porous materials, and StazOn solvent ink for non-porous surfaces. Because these brands work for most needs, they are the ones we stock in a wide range of colors. Keep reading for more details if you have special applications or want to learn all about rubber stamp ink pads and the wonderful options available!
What material are you stamping?
This is the most important question to answer. Uncoated papers, unfinished wood, and natural fabrics work with most types of stamp ink. Glossy, painted, or finished surfaces (non-porous surfaces) and synthetic fabrics require specialty types of ink.
Fabrics which will be washed also require extra care in ink selection – see the special applications section below. Stamping your skin or egg shells are also special applications.
What color are you stamping on?
Inks have different levels of opacity, so the color of your material is very important. Light colored materials give the best results with rubber stamps and work with most colors. For colored surfaces, stick with pigment inks which are more opaque and will maintain their color rather than blending. Stamping on black or other dark surfaces with stamp ink is challenging – white or metallic pigment inks work the best, but don’t expect high contrast. Embossing is a good option for dark paper or cardstock.
How permanent does the stamped image to be?
A better question is whether you want the image to bleed, run, or blend when it is wet. Many dye inks like distress ink are created for artistic effects when wet. These are often called water reactive ink. Pigment inks and archival dye inks are permanent on paper and won’t run when wet. Note – many brands of blendable dye inks have a black ink which is permanent.
For wedding stamps, address stamps, stamping documents, scrapbooks, or anything on the outside of mail (envelopes or boxes), be sure to use a permanent ink.
Pigment vs Dye Stamp Ink
Rubber stamp ink pads can roughly be divided between pigment and dye based inks. They have different properties and can change the look of the stamped image (sometimes dramatically). Many people develop strong preferences for one or the other, but there both have uses. Both are types are available in a wide choice of colors.
Dye based stamp ink is transparent and is absorbed into the material. It tends to dry quickly and are less likely to smudge than pigment inks. Dye ink pads are simple to use and stamps with dye ink are easier to clean. Most blendable inks for artistic and distress effects are dye inks so they are often very versatile. Note: Self-inking stamps or pre-inked stamps typically use dye ink.
Pigment inks are more opaque and sit on top of the material rather than absorbing in. They dry more slowly which is ideal for embossing projects, but requires extra care to prevent smudging. They also provide better color contrast for colored or dark papers.
Personally I prefer pigment inks – I tried too many dye inks which are splotchy or bleed on the edges. Pigment inks usually stamp more uniformly than dye inks and the colors stand out more. But these are subtle effects and personal preference.
Pigment inks are frequently thicker than dye inks and tiny stamp details may get filled in if the stamp is over inked. They are also more difficult to clean off the stamp than dye ink.
Sponge vs Felt Stamp Ink Pads
Stamp ink pads are made with either a felt like fabric surface or a sponge. The felt pads are firm and while the sponge is squishy. See the photo to see the difference so you know what to look for.
Sponge ink pads are slightly harder to use because it’s very easy to apply excess ink to the stamp. However, sponge pads ink the rubber stamp more evenly and provide a more uniform appearance when used properly. Felt is a good choice if you are new to stamping or not certain what to use.
Felt ink pads can only ink the raised surface (and edges) of the rubber stamp because you can’t push the stamp into the pad. When using a sponge ink pad, tap the stamp lightly with the ink pad – do not press the stamp into the pad.
In the past, pigment inks used sponge pads while dye inks used felt. Several brands have changed things up in the last few years, but this convention is still helpful. If you are buying ink store and the ink type isn’t provided, the type of pad is a big hint.
Ink Pad Size
One other thing to consider is the size of the ink pad. Ink pads made by traditional office supply companies (such as Trodat stamp ink) have a plastic edge around the pad so you must get an ink pad bigger than your stamp. Craft brand ink pads have a raised stamping surface, so any size ink pad works. You can ink any size stamp with the pad by moving it around.
Many craft brand ink pads come in standard and mini sizes. Mini sizes are economical and take up less storage space than full size ink pads. They are also a great way to test different brands before you purchase a large assortment of colors.
Solvent Ink
Solvent ink (like StazOn) is the ideal ink for surfaces you can’t stamp with anything else. This includes glossy paper, many plastics, painted surfaces, and more nonporous surfaces. Some people use it as a general purpose ink, just be aware of the tradeoffs before you do this.
Solvent ink will slowly soften and degrade some rubber stamps with frequent use. Clear stamps are especially susceptible. You also need to use the ink in a well ventilated area, so be mindful of your health if you use it often.
Special Applications
These are rubber stamp applications customers ask me about. Hopefully this helps.
Ink for Stamping Clothing
This one is hard because even the most permanent inks will fade over time. For cotton and linen, Ranger Archival ink holds up fairly well. I’ve tried it on a cotton bandanna which I washed several times and it looked fine. Versacraft is a pigment ink designed as a fabric ink. It’s permanent on fabrics if you heat set it. StazOn might also be an option. It’s not recommended for fabric because the solvent might “weaken the fibers”, I’ve used it for stamping names on clothing labels.
Rubber Stamp Ink for Eggs
The USDA has a list of approved inks, but none that I’m aware of are available in convenient ink pads. Some of our customers use Ranger Archival ink but it’s not approved as food safe. Another option is to purchase an empty ink pad and a bottle of approved ink to make your own ink pad.
Ink for Stamping on Skin (Waterproof)
Most craft inks (even permanent) will wash off with soap and water. DO NOT use solvent inks on skin. You can purchase kits which include a bottle of skin safe ink and an empty ink pad to make ink pads for stamping.
Washable Ink for Skin (Fingerprints or Kids Crafts)
For adults, I’d simply use a dye based ink which is not permanent as it will be easy to wash off. Use wet wipes for fingerprints for weddings or other events. For kids, look for a washable kids craft ink which is easy to get off hands and everything else they touch with inky fingers! Mellisa & Doug and Ready2Learn are two examples.
Rubber Stamp Ink for Leather
StazOn is a great option here and I’ve used it on oil tanned leathers. It should work well for most leather finishes as long as the leather is smooth. Textured leather won’t stamp well with any ink because the stamp won’t conform to the texture.
My Favorite Rubber Stamp Inks
Versafine
Versafine is hands down my favorite black ink of all time. It’s a pigment ink with none of the drawbacks – it’s fast dying and has a firm felt ink pad so you can’t overload stamps with ink. It also lasts forever. I’ve been using one ink pad with a re-inker for over 10 years and have stamped thousands of stamps.
Versafine is known for it’s ability to capture detail. Here is a comparison with Jet Black Ranger Archival (my second favorite black ink). It’s subtle, but the Versafine is slightly sharper and more consistent.
Ranger Archival Ink Pads
Ranger Archival ink changed my mind about dye inks. These stamp pads work beautifully and every color I’ve tried. They stamp clear impressions without splotches. They are wonderful general purpose ink pads. As archival ink pads, they are waterproof and acid free which makes them popular for scrapbooking.
VersaMagic Ink Pads
VersaMagic is a pigment ink with a chalk like look. They are one of the more opaque pigment inks and work well on darker papers. The colors in this brand include a variety of light colors plus some muted and subtle colors which just work beautifully in this type of ink. The mini ink pads come in a teardrop shape which allows you to ink stamps with multiple colors.
Unfortunately this ink is becoming less available – some colors have been discontinued. There is a dispute between the US distributor and the manufacturer in Japan on continuing it’s sale in the US, but hopefully it will stick around.
Rubber Stamp Ink Brands to Avoid
There are lots of inks out there and most of them are great – but sometimes something goes wrong…
Make Art Blendable dye ink by Ranger
I received 3 ink pads of this brand at a conference and it was a huge disappointment. All three are severely splotchy and have blurred edges when stamped. Maybe this was only meant to be an artistic ink for blending, but it’s certainly awful at basic stamping. Here are two of the colors stamped next to standard Ranger Archival of a similar color.
Color Box
This ink brand is out of business so if you find some, you may not be able to get more. I’ve had a love hate relationship with Color Box for years. On the plus side, the colors are amazing – bright and beautiful – everything pigment ink should be. BUT the dark colors didn’t dry well. One of the dark reds didn’t even dry with heat setting. They also had quality problems – some ink pads were dry and others were over filled (super juicy) which makes stamps a sloppy mess. I eventually threw away most of these ink pads.
Some Tsukineko Brands
Some Tsukineko brands seem to be disappearing. Tsukineko is a Japanese company, and my understanding is that their US distributor (Imagine Crafts) doesn’t want to stock brands which don’t sell well. Based on what I see on their website, VersaColor, Brilliance, VersaMagic, and some other inks are are slowly disappearing as they run out of stock. If you like these inks, get them while you can.
Craft Ink Brand Comparison
This is an overview of some of the largest brands of craft ink pads I’m aware of. I’ll update this table as I try more of the brands and learn more about them
| Brand | Ink Type | Pad | Permanent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranger Archival | Water based dye | Felt | Yes | large color selection high quality |
| StazOn (Tsukineko) | Solvent Based Dye | Felt | Yes | Specialty ink for non porus-surfaces, colors tend to be dark, reduces life of stamps |
| “Craft” Ink Pad | Oil Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes | cheap small ink pads from China, many “brands” on Amazon, colors stamp light |
| Altenew Crisp Ink | Water Based Dye | Felt | No? | colors shades designed for layered stamping |
| Altenew Fresh Dye Ink | Water Based Dye | Felt | No | round ink pads, colors designed for layered stamping |
| Altenew Mixed Media Ink | Water Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes (heat set on fabric) | colors designed for layered stamping, expensive |
| Catherine Pooler | Water Based Dye | Sponge | No (except black) | |
| Concord & 9th | Water based Dye | Sponge | ? | more expensive than other brands |
| Delicata (Tsukineko) | Water Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes | metallic inks |
| Gina K Designs | Water Based Dye | Felt | ? | popular brand, some claim colors stamp splotchy initially |
| Hero Arts Ombre | Varies | Varies | Varies | multi-color ink pads |
| Hero Hues core ink | Water Based Dye | Felt | Yes | Hero Arts brand, good assortment of colors |
| Hero Hues pigment | Pigment ink | Sponge | Yes | Hero Arts brand, limited colors |
| Hero Hues reactive | Water Based Dye | Felt | No | for artistic effects, bright saturated colors |
| Kaleidacolor (Tsukineko) | Water Based Dye | Felt | ? | multicolor ink pads |
| lawn fawn | Water Based Dye | Felt | ? | |
| Memento (Tsukineko) | Water Based Dye | Felt | No | nice mini pads, avoid gray flannel color |
| Simon Says Stamp | Water Based Dye | Sponge | No | less expensive than other brands |
| stampin’ pad | Water Based Dye | Felt | ? | Stampin’ Up! Is a multi level marketing company, colors may be retired |
| StazOn Pigment (Tsukineko) | Solvent Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes | More opaque color than StazOn |
| Tim Holtz Distress | Water Based Dye | Felt | No | Created for distress and artistic effects |
| Tim Holtz Distress Oxide | Water Based Pigment | Felt | No | Created for distress and artistic effects |
| VersaColor (Tsukineko) | Water Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes | appears to be going away, most colors only availabe in mini ink pads |
| VersaCraft (Tsukineko) | Water Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes (heat set on fabric) | fabric ink, also works on paper |
| Versafine (Tsukineko) | Oil Based Pigment | Felt | yes | best black ink available, colors are dark, dries fast |
| VersaFine CLAIR (Tsukineko) | Oil based Pigment | Sponge | yes | update to versafine brand, better colors (stick with the original for black) |
| VersaMagic (Tsukineko) | Water Based Pigment | Sponge | Yes | opaque chalk ink, subtle colors, may be going away |
Questions?
If you need help selecting an ink pad for your projects, contact us for advice. I’m happy to help and want to go the extra mile to make your project successful!
