Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads

Tim Holtz Distress Inks are a collection of acid-free, non-toxic, fade-resistant, water-based dye inks. They are perfect for the vintage, stained, aged effect that crafters are creating in their altered books, scrapbook pages, cards and papercraft projects. Tim selected the colours and helped develop these inks to produce a realistic, weathered look on paper, photos and decorative fibres. All the colourful Distress Inks afford added versatility when photo tinting and colour layering with the original, award-winning tones. The 3 x 3-inch pads are made with a raised felt for easier use with direct to paper techniques and inking up larger stamps.

- Distress Inks are Dye-based Inks
- Distress Inks have a more transparent property 
- Available in both full size 3" x 3" ink pads and mini 1" x" 1 ink pads
- Brighter and more vibrant in colour when used on white cardstock
- Faster drying time due to its "thinner" property (comparing to the Distress Oxides)
- Blending can be a bit streakier than Distress Oxides due to their transparent property
- Can be used for water colouring and embossing
- Pair with Tim Holtz Distress® Spritz, a luminous spray that coordinates with the Distress color palette to add colourful shimmer to your favorite Distress products. 

Distress Inks vs Distress Oxides

- Distress Inks are dye-based inks that are transparent in nature and dry quickly due to their "thin" quality.

- Distress Oxides are primarily constructed of pigment ink which has an opaque property and dries slower due to their natural thickness property. However, Distress Oxides are actually hybrid ink with a major component of the pigment ink with a small amount of dye ink in the compound.

- Distress Inks appear bright and more vibrant in colour when using on white cardstock.

- Distress Oxides have a milky oxidizing effect resulting in a chalky appearance even though they don't contain any chalk in the compound. 

- On darker cardstock (or background), Distress Oxides will cover up the background better while the Distress Ink allows the background colour to show through.

- Both Distress Inks and Distress Oxides can be used with water to create visually stunning results. Both can be left air-dried or dried via the use of a heat tool. Please note that the results may vary depending on the type of paper you use. 

- You can watercolour with both Distress Inks and Distress Oxides. We recommend using a paint palette to store your Distress Ink and Distress Oxide. One drop for each would be more than enough to get you going creatively. The inks will not dry up. It's recommended to shake the Distress Oxides well before dropping them onto the palette. 

- Blending: Due to their transparency property, the Distress Inks have a tendency to show streaks more than the Distress Oxides. You can still blend with Distress Inks but a little bit of practice may be needed. Try to blend as lightly as possible and avoid pressing down too hard in one area. Distress Oxides blend much easier and nearly flawlessly. Blending Tools like the Ranger Domed Foam Ink Blending Tool or the Distress Blending Tools work perfectly when blending with your Distress & Distress Oxides Inks.

- Both can be used with Embossing Powers. A clear embossing powder is recommended to see through the beautiful colour of the stamped image.

- Distress Inks are available in 3" x 3" full-size ink pads as well as 1" x 1" mini ink pads while the Distress Oxides are only available in 3" x 3" full-size ink pads.