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Soy Ink
Soy based printer's ink is what I and many other stamp makers use to index our maple blocks (handles). It is jet black, holds tons of detail and never fades. Clean-up is easy with any vegetable oil.
Soon I will write a complete article on using soy ink, but for now just a quick paragraph because so many people ask me where to find it. Unfortunately, the art materials industry has not yet discovered the wonders of vegetable based ink for printmaking (I'm sure they'll catch on some day - I've even contact Staedtler Mars about it). As far as I know, there are only two ways to get your hands on soy ink. One is to get out your credit card and call up Great Western Ink in Portland, Oregon (800-735-3381) (they don't seem to have a web site) and ask for hi-tech dense black T-14. It comes in a one pound tin which is more than you will ever need, it's expensive and there is shipping to boot, so you really have to want it.
The second way to get soy ink is something I have done on several occasions when I needed a small amount of color ink, other than black. I went to my local print shop and asked them for "leftovers". I don't know if all printers do this, but mine keeps a shelf full of little Dixie cups full of leftover ink, each one labeled with a Pantone number so they know exactly what color it is. How did I find out about this? Went to an open house at the print shop one day, and spied the shelf with the Dixie cups. If you do this, make sure to ask your printer if they use soy ink!
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