Grandma's Rocking Chair - November 3, 2013 - New Ink Pads

Grandma's Stamping Question of the Week: Why does my new type of foam pad need to be re-inked more than the old linen type?

I love the foam pads we have.  Though I have more Linen than foam.  I think the foam pads are easier to ink up the stamp with, no more pounding on the pad or running it back and forth across the pad to make sure that the stamp is covered.  I just like the feel of them with I ink my stamps.  Though I also find that they need more re-inking. we still store them upside down so that the ink comes to the top of the pad.  Take the Real Red I was using today.  I was using the sponge Dauber to Dauber my Poinsettias on this card.

There was a light spot in the center of the pad when we started out and by the time we daubed 60 Poinsettias that light spot had gotten about 1/2 the pad.  Not that there was no ink just that it was lighter.  So now you know where the question came from.  So I went to product information for Stampin' Up! to see what they would say about this question.

Q: How long will the pad last before I need to re-ink it?
A: The amount you use it will affect how often you need to re-ink. Please keep in mind that these pads release a lot more ink onto your stamp, resulting in a crisp, solid image. Since the pads release more ink, they will need to be refilled more often.  

OK  I know they release a lot more ink as I don't have to keep tapping it so often and most of the time even a light tap will get ink all over my block and stamp. 

When I buy a new pad it is usually gooey, just dripping with ink.  In Fact my Old Olive was leaking and got all over the case on the inside and dripped outside.  So what does the Professors at Stampin' Up! say about that. 

Q: My pad is too wet. What should I do?
A: The closer to the manufacture date, the juicer the pad will be. As the pad ages, this problem will fade. In the meantime, very light tapping will reduce the extra ink on the stamp. You can also use a paper towel to blot the area of the stamp pad that you will be using.

Q: When I first stamp with certain colors, my images seem a lot darker. Why is this happening?
A: When stamping with your old pads, you had to work hard to get even ink coverage on your stamp. With the new firm foam pad, the stamp gets a lot more ink on it so when you stamp, your image will appear darker.  Once your stamped image dries, the color will look normal.

OK so I am not off to much.  

One of the other reasons I think we re-ink it more often is that you notice it more.  The Linen ones you never noticed it needed more ink unless you couldn't see the ink when you stamped. The color of the pad was always the same. The only other tell tale sign was when the edges started to raise and you knew it was time to re-ink or it would have  curled up on it's own and died.  With the new foam pads you can see it get lighter colored and you know you are using the ink. Which at first I didn't like bu now I think I do.  I re-inked my Real Red tonight to use in my Tuesday Class making more Poinsettias and we will see if I can get through the whole class with out it getting lighter than today.  I have 4 folks Tuesday so that will be 120 Poinsettias. 

Slowly I will replace all my linen pads with the foam pads, I like knowing when to re-ink them.

If you have a stamping or paper crafting questions please e-mail me or just leave a comment with your question or item you would like me to review.

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Happy Stamping

Mary