BetterPress First Impressions
I took advantage of Spellbinders Black Friday Sale and bought both the Platinum 6 and the BetterPress. I already had a white Platinum 6, but it was on its last leg. So I upgraded to a Lilac Shimmer. It is so pretty! Now I just wish the BetterPress and Glimmer came in Lilac Shimmer too.
But this blog post is mostly about taking the BetterPress for a spin. I own a number of plates already, because they foil fantastically well. But the first plates I used were the ones that came in the box. I also used the BetterPress ink, cardstock and tape that came in the box. As you can see, it turned out beautifully!
Lessons Learned
Just as with stamps, your plates need to be closer together than you think.
You can achieve smooth gradients with multiple inks.
Inking up plates is less forgiving than inking up stamps. Take your time and be prepared to try several times before you’re really happy with the result.
Pay particular attention to solid surfaces. They’re easy to under-ink.
The part of the plate that goes into the die cutting machine first gets the heaviest pressure. Be sparing with the ink there.
Both Archival and Distress Oxide Inks work great!
I didn’t like the uneven effect of Distress Crayons.
Things to Try
Pressing more than once - can I layer ink? Try with white on Kraft.
Try to get sharp edges between different inks by using tape.
Try applying ink with a foam blending tool.
Try with my Pinkfresh inks
Try watercolor paper
Try watercoloring before or after pressing
