Last week, Amy left me this comment:

I’m glad you specified the paper you used. Each company tends to formulate their inks to work best with their paper. I know that Stampin’ Up has ink designed to work with their ultra smooth cardstock and real rubber stamps while Close to My Heart makes ink that works better with acrylic stamps and their type of paper.

And you know, Amy has a great point! So I wanted to share with you the same inks on Stampin’ Up! Whisper White paper. I don’t have CTMH so I can’t show you that.

Now, before I go on, I feel compelled to explain a little about Whisper White for those who haven’t used it. Whisper White has an ultra smooth finish to it that makes it a little different than other papers.  The finish effects the way different inks absorb into it. For this reason, it is very important that you test your inks on your paper first.

In fact, I recommend that you make yourself an artist book or folder. Inside, you can keep swatches of paper and ink samples like you’ve seen me make this past two weeks. Make sure you write which paper and ink you are using. Make any notes you want. Then, later, you’ll have it to refer to when you need it! This works great for Copic color combinations too. And ink combinations, and…and…and… (you get the idea!)

One more note. Dye inks absorb into paper better than pigment inks. Pigment inks are designed to sit on top of the paper. Keep this in mind with the Stampin’ Up! Whisper White. You’ll notice how the pigment inks are a little harder to work with on this ultra smooth finish.

Let’s look closely:

This is StazOn.

When I use Whisper White, I always use StazOn. I get a clean crisp image the first time I stamp!

StazOn is a solvent ink designed for use on non-porous surfaces. It works really well on paper!

StazOn gets my vote for the best ink to use on Stampin’ Up! Whisper White.

The first column in the next two pictures is Brilliance. There are some light smudges in the picture. Brilliance is a pigment ink so this really isn’t surprising. If you even slightly rock your stamp, you’ll smear the ink.

The second column is Versafine. It really smeared on my first attempt!!

So, I decided to try again…more carefully this time…

On the second try, the Brilliance did a good job. I just have to be very careful when I stamp. The trick is not pushing too hard.

The Versafine was much better too using this same technique. However, when I was writing, I got my hand in the ink and smeared it. This is a perfect example of the pigment ink needing to be heat set or given longer time to dry. Aside from my mistake with the Versafine, it is a good ink if you are patient. Same with the Brilliance.

Here, we are only looking at the right column which is Stampin’ Up! Basic Black ink.

The Stampin’ Up! ink really did a great job. I’m not sure why or how I tend to skip spots with my SU black ink, but I do. However, the lines are crisp and clean.

This is my second attempt with the SU! ink and I skipped again. Besides the skipping issue, the ink is great.

Winner: Stazon.

First Runner Up: Stampin’ Up!