• Shake the ZimINK bottle very thoroughly.

• Apply very sparingly, but evenly, to a dry foam stamp pad.

• I spread the ink evenly over the pad right from the bottle. Allow the inked pad to sit (covered) for at least a few minutes.

• Tap the stamp gently into your stamp pad. You want to get just enough ink on the stamp to cover its surface. Press the stamp *carefully* onto the surface.

• Remove the stamp from the surface slowly, bringing it straight up.

• TIP: Don't Over-Ink Your Stamp Pad! (Trust me on this one!)

• If you are stamping on slippery surfaces, steady your hand and kiss the surface with the stamp. Practice on disposable plastic plates. Sometimes it helps to wait a few seconds after inking so that the ink will get a little tacky, and the stamp will be less likely to slip.

• Ceramics should be sealed with an acrylic spray or sealer for durability. Or, stamp on ceramic tile or glass windows and don't seal - you'll be able to remove the ink later. Stamp kitchen tiles for the holidays, or store windows with featured stamps. When you're ready to change the decor, you can wipe with Zim’s Cleaner/Conditioner!

• When stamping on porous surfaces, make sure to apply firm pressure when stamping to achieve even, bright coverage.

• I love ZimINK for shrink plastic! ZimINK is fast drying and bright, it can be used to stamp a solid image, or black can be used for an outline stamp. Color the image in with markers, colored pencils, or chalk. ZimINK won't run or bleed, and doesn't have to be heat-set! For your shrink plastic needs, the ZimGirls, Carolyn & Nanette recommend PolyShrink™ .

• If you're looking for something to stamp on fabric, ZimINK is for almost everything BUT fabric. For fabric stamping, check the Stamp Club's Fabric Stamping Tips page and ZimPAINT.

To ink blank pads with water-based inks, squirt a small amount of the ink over the entire surface of the pad. Using a rubber brayer (either soft or hard), push the ink into the pad; the entire surface should be evenly coated with ink. If additional ink is needed, apply sparingly. (NOTE: If you do not have a brayer, the back of a plastic spoon can be used to push the ink into the pad.)
If too much ink was applied, tap the pad over a piece of paper until the excess has been removed. This paper can be used either as background paper, cut into pieces for use as tiles, punched with paper punches, or cut using either a stencil or template.

Follow the same procedure when re-inking a pad that was inked when purchased.

Blank foam daubers also can be inked to use for inking stamps. Place a drop or two of the re-inker fluid on a non-porous surface (freezer paper, acetate, CD, etc). Tap the foam into the ink. Pigment inks dry very slowly on the foam; daubers can be stored upright for use at a later date. Dye inks will dry out on the foam; either tap the foam into a drop of ink or water to reconstitute the ink. Daubers can be rinsed clean in warm water; do not use soap. Darice Embossing Essentials Foam Daubers are inexpensive, available in two sizes, and ink very easily.

In addition to inking pads and daubers, water-based re-inkers are excellent to use for coloring prints, coloring paste paper and creating background papers. Depending upon the technique, either a brush, foam dauber, sponge or brayer (foam or rubber) is used to apply the ink. Follow manufacturer's instructions: inks requiring heat setting must be heat set.

Small brushes are best for coloring prints. Use a non-porous surface as a pallette; pigment inks will not dry out on those surfaces; dye inks can be rejuvenated with a small amount of water. Powdered pigments can be added to the inks if desired. Dye inks can be used for embossing by adding a drop or two of embossing ink before applying the ink..

Inked daubers provide a quick method of applying circular shapes either to a background or a print. Ink the daubers by tapping the foam into a drop or two of ink that was placed on a non-porous surface. The same inks used for coloring prints also can be used for the circular shapes.

When making paste paper, re-inkers can be added to the paste mix before applying it to paper. Ink also can be dragged, brushed or splattered over the paste after it has dried. Embossing or pigment inks added at this time should be embossed.

Brayers (all types) and large brushes provide fast coverage when making background papers. If desired, either stencils or masks can be positioned on the paper prior to applying the ink. When either pigment ink or embossing ink is added to dye ink, the paper can be embossed (if a glossy paper was used, it will be necessary to emboss). It's not necessary that the same type of ink be used over the entire piece of paper. Some areas can be colored with dye ink; some areas can be colored with pigment ink.