Inkpad for Thumbrint Tree

First, you want an acid-free ink (I think most are though). If it's not acid free, then eventually the colour will fade with time.

There are 2 main types of ink:

1. Pigment

2. Dye

Pigment inks are super colourful but take a bit longer to dry and can therefore smudge. They come off thumbs a lot easier, though.

Dye inks are more permanent and dry quickly, therefore won't smudge. They are harder to get off your thumb though, so choose a colour that isn't too dark. Although it may colour people's thumbs, it won't come off onto clothes etc after wet wipes for them to clean their hands.

We did a canvas thumbprint tree, and because of the nature of canvas and because we wanted people to write their names by their thumbrpints, we had to go with dye ink so that it wouldn't smudge (canvas doesn't allow ink to soak in as well as paper, so it would smudge more -- on paper you can probably get away with pigment).

I bought Colorbox from Michaels. The reviews were good (people finding them years later and still not dried out) and they were on sale.

I bought a ton and tested them out :-) I am doing a fingerprint tree for my wedding this Saturday. The one that I found worked the best is Color Box pigment ink pads. I stamped my finger onto a practice paper and then licked a finger to try to smear it and it wouldn't smear. They are archival so they won't fade over time. I ordered them online from Michaels. These are the best for the matte paper I will be using. I am not sure how they perform on glossy paper. If you have other questions let me know!

Ours is on paper not canvas, I believe the seller called it "printmaking" paper. Not entirely sure what that means. Either way our tree is hand drawn so I am assuming it is more like the paper you are doing, Sarah?

Sounding like color box may be a good option at this point, does anyone know if they are pigment or dye?