Product Review: Adirondack Dye Ink Pads by Ranger Industries

Adirondack dye ink pads are popular with rubber stampers, scrapbookers, card makers, mixed media artists, and paper crafters. I am a stamping enthusiast, and I own numerous ink pads. While Adirondack Inks are not always my first choice for stamping, I do use them with frequency. This is a good all-purpose basic water-based dye ink. It's easy to clean up after a stamping session with Adirondack dye inks. You won't need to use any special cleaners; soap and water should be sufficient.

Adirondack dye inks are acid-free, quick-drying inks that are safe to use in scrapbooks. They are fade-resistant, meaning that if you store and care for your projects carefully, the inks will last for a long time. The ink is non-toxic.

The ink pad itself is made of raised felt. The ink pad is not "squishy" like some ink pads are. These ink pads are quite large; the felt area measures approximately 3 1/2 inches by 2 1/4 inches, making it an ideal ink pad for using with large stamps, roller stamps, or brayers. Of course, you can easily use smaller stamps with these ink pads as well.

These ink pads come with a hinged lid, which is handy. The lids can be removed pretty easily if necessary for easier inking.

These inks are made in the USA. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) is $4.99, although you can sometimes get lucky and find them on sale.

Adirondack Inks are versatile, and they can be used to create a variety of effects and techniques. The most obvious use for them is stamping, and they work well for this purpose. They can be used with both clear stamps and rubber stamps. You don't need stamps to make effective use of Adirondack Inks, however. You can also use them with brayers to create a variety of different brayer techniques. These ink pads can also be used for direct-to-paper applications, although their large size makes it a bit challenging to apply them with precision in small areas. They can be used to make backgrounds with excellent results.

Colors:

Color is one of the most important aspects of my work, and it was the range of available colors that first attracted me to Adirondack Inks. The colors are all outstanding, and they generally work well with each other when they are used together in projects.

Adirondack ink is available in solid colors and also in variegated 4-color handmade rainbow pads. The solids are available in several different categories: Earthtones, Lights, and Brights. The 4-color handmade rainbow pads feature 4 different colors of ink in one pad. The colors transition seamlessly and can give gorgeous variegated color effects when used appropriately.

I own the following colors of Adirondack Inks:

Bottle, a gorgeous deep hunter green
Denim, a fabulous all-purpose navy blue color
Cranberry, a rich brick red color
Eggplant, a deep dull purple color
Raisin, a dark burgundy wine color
Terra Cotta, a vibrant, deep burnt orange
Rueberry: this is a 4-color Handmade Rainbow ink pad consisting of four of the earthtone colors: Raisin, Pesto, Currant, and Eggplant.
Cabin Fever: this is another 4-color Handmade Rainbow ink pad consisting of four of the earthtone colors: Butterscotch, Ginger, Raisin, and Pesto

I find that I use the solid colors much more often than I use the rainbow pads, but I enjoy having all these colors in my stamping stash.

Other Coordinated Adirondack Products Available:

Re-inkers are available for these ink pads, so there is no need to worry about using up all the ink. It will probably take you quite a long time before you need to re-ink them. I use mine occasionally, and have had them for several years, and I have not yet needed to refresh the ink.

Ranger also manufactures Adirondack pigment ink pads, Adirondack Color Washes, Adirondack Alcohol Inks, Adirondack Paint Dabbers, Adirondack Powders, Adirondack Dimensional Pearls, Adirondack Pigment Pens, plus a range of applicators and accessories. These products all coordinate perfectly with the Adirondack ink pads.

Conclusion:

In my opinion, Adirondack Inks are well worth the money. I do find that I use other inks somewhat more frequently than these; I love the look of pigment inks, so I tend to reach for my pigment ink pads instead of these unless I am working on a project that specifically requires dye ink. If you are a fan of pigment inks like I am, you would probably enjoy Ranger Adirondack pigment inks more than these. If you are a dye ink fan, you will probably love working with these Adirondack dye inks. I am happy to recommend Adirondack dye inks Inks to other scrapbookers, stampers, card makers, and paper crafters.

Thanks for reading this review. I hope you found it helpful. I welcome your comments and feedback. Happy crafting!