All About Craft Ink Pads
Whether you’re looking for a colorful stamping solution or you’re looking to add the perfect finishing touch to your DIY project, we’ve put together this craft ink pad guide to help you make an informed decision before you buy!
Craft ink pads are designed to help you make the most out of every craft, card and DIY project. At Simply Stamps, we offer a large variety of craft ink pad options and colors to help you get creative and leave a colorful impression.
What kind of stamps can I use with craft ink?
While self-inking stamps and pre-inked stamps already include ink in the stamp body, traditional stamp models require an additional ink pad. At Simply Stamps, our traditional wood handle, European wood handle, and wood block craft stamp models require a separate ink pad to make impressions.
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| Wood Handle Stamps are a sturdy, more budget-friendly option for larger stamp designs. A great everyday pick for craft and office use. | European Hand Stamps are a compact barrel-style handle built for precise, one-handed placement. Great for envelope accents and smaller decorative designs. | Mini Accent Stamps are our seasonal and decorative mini craft stamp collection with floral, holiday, and accent designs made to pair with these ink pads. |
What are the different types of craft ink pads?
We carry two types of ink pads for traditional hand stamps, and it's worth knowing the difference before you buy.
Ink Pads for Hand Stamps:
- Water-based and quick-drying
- Safe on skin and easy to clean up with mild soap and water
- Rated for thousands of impressions, making them a solid everyday pick for standard paper
Craft Ink Pads:
- Permanent ink that sits on top of the surface rather than soaking in
- Acid-free and won't fade or bleed once fully dry
- Works well on paper, glossy, coated, and non-porous surfaces
- Needs extra dry time compared to water-based ink
- Each pad measures approximately 3.5" x 2.25" and comes with a cover, since light exposure can affect the pad over time
Color options vary by stamp and ink type:
- Craft ink pads (for hand stamps and wood block stamps): Dark Blue, Green, Grey, Orange, and Pink
- Ink pads for hand stamps: Black, Blue, Red, Green, and Purple
- Self-inking stamps: Black, Blue, Green, Purple, Red, Pink, and Orang
Color names are subject to change over time, but you'll always get the color you order.
Will craft ink fade or bleed?
Our craft ink pad selection at Simply Stamps is ideal for leaving clear, colorful impressions. Once it has been given ample time to dry, our craft ink is fade and bleed resistant, making it ideal for maintaining shape and color.
Will craft ink dry on glossy surfaces?
Craft ink can stamp well on paper, as well as glossy, coated and non-porous surfaces. For best results on coated and glossy surfaces, heat set or emboss to avoid smudging.
Stamp Wash & Care Instructions
The key to prolonging your stamp’s lifespan is following proper care instructions after each project. Here are our steps to cleaning your stamp after using craft ink:
- Wash your stamp thoroughly in warm, soapy water
- *Do not use alcohol or cleaners
- Please note that some ink residue may remain on your stamp and it may not become completely clean or free of ink residue
- Ink buildup is normal and does not interfere with future stamping
- Allow your stamp to completely dry before reuse
Helpful tips for permanent color stamp users:
- Need your logo or design on branding materials? Use a permanent stamp, they immensely cut down costs and even saves resources. Logo stamps are a great way to get your stamp information on mailers, boxes, product tags and more, without paying for each packing item. Rubber stamps are completely customizable and make branding quick and easy!
- Stamp your brochures! With most brochure paper being of high gloss, the simple solution is quick drying permanent stamps.
Self Inking Color Stamps
Need to stamp fast? A self-inking stamp is the natural choice. Our primary ink for self-inking color stamps is Ideal ink. Our top selling stamps are our personalized line of self-inking address stamps and our top selling self-inking stamps model is the Trodat 4924 Self-inking Stamp. Ideal has since merged with Trodat stamps as the Trodat P4 models, which are the most recent standard. For pre-inked stamps we also carry Ultimark small ink bottle and Ultimark large ink bottle colors. Listed below are standard trodat stamp ink color options!
Black Stamp - The most popular of our color options. This stamp color is not especially useful when the rubber stamp message needs to be noticed.
Black is the most frequent color for all of our stamps, including:
Red Stamp - Official in all senses of the word, red rubber stamps are notorious for their urgency. It is able to give the tone of any document a serious message conveyance.
Red is most frequent with the following stamps:
Orange Stamp - Not to be ousted as exceptionally good at eye-catching by other bright colors, orange is able to provoke without coming across "too harsh". Ensures your stamp message will be delivered without the common perception of being as offensive as red, as well as not having the official tone that goes with it.
Orange is most frequent with the following stamps:
Green Stamp - The best way to provoke positive attitude via rubber stamp. It gives any reader an instant feeling that generally is associated with acceptance. Use of green as a rubber stamp is an excellent method of giving documents a positive tone to the reader.
Green is most frequent with the following stamps:
Blue Stamp - A calming yet very apparent color for rubber stamps on all documents. It is naturally neutral in use and is primarily a decorative alternate to black.
Blue is most frequent with the following stamps:
Pink Stamp - Whether bright or muted, pink is a color that is commonly used to express loving messages and feminine features. This fan favorite color is great for adorning crafts, bullet journals, and DIY project!
Pink is most frequent with the following stamps:
Purple Stamp - This color is most commonly associated with royalty and wealth in English societies. Purple is not very popular and is mainly used for decorative purposes in rubber stamping. Purple is spread throughout all rubber stamps.
Have any more questions? Feel free to contact the stamp experts on our customer focus team here.
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