best white ink pad for stamps

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No. There Is Still No "Best" White Ink Pad.
But This One Is Pretty Good.

Many companies try to create white ink pads, but the color is rarely as good as the company claims. Needless to say, we have tried a lot of different white inks for stamps and only a few inks are worth keeping. The issue is not that we are too picky. We just want a white ink that looks crisp, vibrant, and is versatile. But finding this in a white ink pad is challenging. 

Recently, though, there has been a lot of chatter recently about the White Unicorn Pigment ink pad from Hero Arts

So we tested it to see if it is up to snuff.

Keep reading to see if it is really the best white ink pad.

Review Summary

Usefulness
Durability
Price

So . . . is the Unicorn Ink the best white ink pad?

We are mostly pretty satisfied with the Unicorn white ink pad from Hero Arts. It isn’t perfect, but it might be the best we have tried so far.

Here is what we like about it:

PROS:

Vibrant: This ink is noticeably bright, even on black cardstock. We also tried stamping it twice and three times without re-inking. That didn’t work so well. While the first impression was bright and full of color, the next generations were not good at all. That is to be expected though. Many stampers know the struggle of finding the best white ink pad. Until more companies start making better white inks, we will have to settle for poor second generation stamping from the few white inks there are. If you do want that faded look, you can always stamp your lighter images with another (less good) white ink. The Tsukineko Memento Luxe Mixed Media Ink pad, for example, could do the trick. Its not good for getting a crisp image though, so save it for when you want the faded look.

Thick Ink: The white ink is very thick and makes an even impression. All of the images we stamped were filled with color.

Versatile: We tried several different stamps, from photo-polymer to rubber to cheap acrylic and they all stamped very well with this white ink. It also works on all types of paper, even vellum. Plus, you can get a fairly good image on cloth, as well.

Great Chalky Image: A lot of stampers want to achieve the chalkboard look by stamping with white ink on black or dark green paper. The Unicorn white ink is the best white ink we have ever used for that purpose. Even while still on the stamp, the ink looks “chalky.”

 

You already know how frustrated we are about the lack of quality white inks. Though this ink pad from Hero Arts is pretty good, it is not perfect.

CONS:

Not for Small Stamps: We tried using some tiny sentiment stamps and the Unicorn ink just went all over the place. No matter how lightly we pressed, we could not make the small font readable.

Slow Drying: As you might expect, this pigment ink takes longer than dye ink to dry. But its pretty much impossible to find a white dye ink that gives a vibrant impression. Just be sure to hit the stamped image with your heat gun for a few seconds to avoid accidentally smearing it.

Not For Nonporous Surfaces: Though the ink works fantastically on porous surfaces, you cannot use it on plastic acetate, for example. The only ink we’ve found for plastic is Stazon, which is arguably the most annoying ink on the planet. (PS – we don”t recommend white Stazon ink for dark surfaces, the vibrancy is just not good.)

Almost Too Juicy: We all love juicy ink pads, but this ink pad is almost too juicy. There is a ton of ink in the pad. So you have to press your stamp *very* lightly into the ink or it will get everywhere. If you are heavy-handed when crafting, this could be a problem for you.

How does it compare to other white pigment inks?

The Tsukineko VersaColor White Pigment Ink Pad is an extremely popular white ink. Until we tried the Hero Art’s Unicorn white ink, the Tsukineko white was our favorite.

When we compared the two, the stamped image with the Unicorn ink was noticeably brighter. The Tsukineko white ink also seemed to dry more slowly, though we got impatient after about 3 minutes and used our favorite heat gun.

Another pretty good option is the Clearsnap ColorBox: White Frost. A lot of stampers list this as the best white ink pad. While the color is indeed crisp, it takes forever to dry. If you are using this ink on a surface where you don’t want to use a heat gun, be prepared to put your project aside for an hour or so.

Our Verdict:

Is the Hero Arts Unicorn White Ink really the best white ink for stamping? No, we can’t say that because at this point, there is no perfect white ink.

What we can say is that it does a pretty good job and it is the best we have ever tried, and we have tried a lot over the years.

Ultimately, the white Unicorn ink is the best combination of versatility, dry time, and crisp, bright color. For these reasons, it is our new favorite.

Ready to buy a this ink pad for yourself or a crafty friend? Click here to add it to your Amazon cart!

What do you think? Is this the best white ink pad or do you prefer another one? Let us know in the comments!

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