New in Stock
Happy Sunday Everyone!
A little on the late side - was
going to leave you all in peace
today but when this wonderful
article by our very own
Craftyfield popped into my
in box I just had to share it
with you. I would suggest
you make yourselves a nice
cuppa and perhaps help
yourselves to some cake
or a biscuit or two and
settle down with your feet
up to read on.....
Craftyfield has taken the new
Versafine Clair Inks and put
them through their paces.
Here is what she found:
"Tsukineko VersaFine Clair ink is a fast drying,
oil based pigment ink. Like the old Versafine,
the raised inkpad, allows direct to paper
inking, as well as inking stamps.
The cases have been redesigned and are now
air tight and therefore should last even
longer than the already long lasting Versafine.
This new line of VersaFine inks is available in
great vintage and bright colours, 24 colours in total,
so you should find the exact shades you need!
The first thing I noticed when inking stamps
is how thick the layer of ink is on
top of the stamp, allowing for a deep colour.
I had forgotten how juicy the old Versafine pads
were as, one of mine is nearly completely dry
and the other half way there.
Still, I have had the first one for over 10 years…
Compared to the old Versafine inkpads,
the new ones have lost their hinged lid,
have a shorter depth, 1cm less for the same width.
The inkpad is raised a little more than
the old ones too, so it is easier to do direct to
paper inking.
The cases stack very well, with more of
a snug fit than the old ones.
First I tested the ink on different surfaces,
comparing the Versafine Clair
with appropriate inks for the substrate.
On card, the Versafine Clair dries quickly and
the image is more solid than with Memento.
On glossy cardstock the Versafine Clair image
is much brighter, and the ink appears to stay on
top unlike the Memento, which sinks in.
It does however dry very slowly and it is
possible to smear a little, even after
drying for 24 hours.
I tried heat setting too, to no avail so if you
must stamp on glossy with Versafine Clair
you will need to emboss.
On fabric, whilst the Versafine Clair stamps well,
the details are blurred a little as the ink sinks in
the material and the Archival gives the best results.
On acetate, no surprise there, Tsukineko do
not recommended Versafine Clair for stamping
on non absorbent surfaces and acetate is
not absorbent at all.
Overlooking the bad stamping (user error!),
even Archival has trouble with such a slick
surface but at least does dry, albeit slowly,
and can be heat set.
For acetate, there is only one ink that does the
job reliably in my view and that is Staz on.
On watercolour, the Versafine Clair impression
is that little bit more solid, compared to
the dye ink. Most of the texture you
see in the photo is from the paper’s cold
pressed grain.
[I re stamped a small portion in the blue inks
I used for the card and glossy samples
to check whether the difference in colour
was due in part to the shade chosen, and it is].
Versafine Clair is recommended for use with
watercolours and I applied a wash of yellow
ochre without any problems.
On acrylic paints, like acetate, the surface
is non absorbent and the ink will not dry and
needs to be embossed.
This is also true for Gesso, as you
can see in the photo on the right, the ink
has spread and the image has lost a lot of detail.
Use Versafine Clair on all absorbent surfaces
Use Versafine Clair on all absorbent surfaces
(non coated cardstock, wood, fabric etc..)
and avoid on slick/non absorbent surfaces
such as glass, plastics and coated papers,
unless you are embossing the ink.
Versafine Clair ink embosses well on both
Glossy and standard card.
The colour is deeper on card, because
of its absorbency, and you must work quickly
to get a good result.
In the perfect stamping equation,
in addition to the ink and the surface,
there is one other variable,
the stamp itself.
Rubber isn't problematic but
clear stamps can be...
First up I tested a polymer stamp, and
clearly Versafine Clair comes on top,
with a smooth and deep colour compared
to the patchy impression of the dye inks
(Distress and Memento)
and weak colours of the pigment ink
(Versacolor).
On acrylic stamps, the ink tends to
bead up on them and produce even more
patchy results than with polymer stamps.
Compare the look of the Memento ink above
to the thick layer of Versafine Clair shown earlier,
the difference is striking!
With Versafine Clair the print is solid and
perfectly detailed.
Unless you are prepared to take your
sanding block to the acrylic stamp,
Versafine Clair should be your first choice
of ink, unless you are stamping on
non absorbent surfaces!
Now for the litmus test!
I have pulled out my most detailed photographic
stamp, which is very difficult to ink as it
hasn't got any deeply etched lines (the
image is formed of half tone-like minute dots).
It is easy to see already from the inked
stamp that the Versafine Clair is performing
much better than the Memento and the
difference in the stamped image is convincing.
The new inks passed the test with flying
colours and I, for one is a happy bunny!
Like the old Versafine, the Versafine Clair is
made for detailed stamps and superior
to all other inks I've ever tried.
On to colours.
Colour is a personal choice, if you stamp
lots of florals you will get some pinks, blues
and green, whilst if you are into Vintage
images you will choose from the darker
colours and browns.
To help you choose I photographed
the 6 colours I had to test next to
their respective lids and can confirm
the lid images are true to the ink colours.
Personally, I'd like to get 3 shades (light,
medium, dark) in the greens, blues and
pink/reds, to use on layered flower stamps
(multi-step stamps) and a brown, black, grey...
Well, space allowing I'd have them all
but if not, you can (preferably with a stamping
platform) overstamp one colour with another
to get a 3rd shade.
I tested how the ink layers on itself by
stamping the pink on top of the yellow
to get the orange you see in the upper
left corner.
Finally, as to colouring mediums you can use
Finally, as to colouring mediums you can use
on top of Versafine Clair, both alcohol and
water based media, can be used like the
old Versafine.
If using coloured pencils, refrain from using
a solvent to blend the colours as this will
interact with the oil in the ink.
In conclusion, although there isn’t a holy grail
of ink able to handle all surfaces, stamps and
colouring mediums - trust me I've been on
that quest and gave up a long time ago -
Versafine Clair is a pretty good all rounder,
a beautiful ink for detail and strength of colour.
It's an emphatic YES from me!"
It's an emphatic YES from me!"
xXx
Thank you for such a super in-depth
look at the product Craftyfield.
I had wondered if I really need yet
another set of inks and now that
I've read the results of your
researches I clearly do need yet
another set of inks.......................!
Are you there Santa? Are you
listening?!!
'Till tomorrow
Mickie xx
