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Coloring issue
I love Copics and coloring! I have a problem though...sometimes when I am coloring brown hair, the ink feels sticky on the paper. Any ideas why this might be? When you pick the card up and let the light hit it, it looks almost glazed in places. HELP!
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Dense papers, like Xpress It and Gina K. paper have a harder time absorbing the larger dye particles that make up the dark inks. Unless the marker itself is gummy, then you may be layering too much ink. If this happens, then you can use the colorless blender and remove some ink, or just avoid layering too many of the darkest colors.Comment
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1I am using Stampin' UP!'s whisper white cardstock and it really only happens with the browns. Also, the light over my desk tends to put off a lot of heat. Could that be part of it too?
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The more alcohol that evaporates from the ink, the heavier, denser the inks become, but I'm just not sure the lamp is causing problems.
Coloring with only the tip can limit ink flow and cause a bit of gumminess to occur - more info on that, below. -
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1I also have this problem. It's not the paper as I have always used the same paper from the beginning, I think it's the ink. It is thick, and dries very shiny? This is a problem that is recient. I originally purchased these pens about 6 months ago and did not have any problems with them until now. I did try changing the tip of the sketch markers E37, E25 and also G85, G99. It works ok for a while but then gets gummy again. I removed both ends of the pens and that does not seem to matter. Any other suggestions? Is there a way to make the ink not so thick on the tip of the marker?-
So, one thing that makes Copics so special is that the manufacturing process ensures the inks won't vary from batch to batch.
I see you're noticing a recent change - another thing that could be happening is that the inks might be getting denser, gummier as the alcohol vehicle evaporates.
Refilling with fresh, new ink should take care of the inconsistencies you're experiencing, but then again some inks are just denser than others (more prone to gumming up).
There's a bunch of useful info below. Hope this helps! -
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EMPLOYEE
2MelissaO - Stampin' UP paper is intended for water-based Stampin' Up markers, so that may be causing your problem. Does it still happen with other papers? If so, read below:
pkatai0955 - Somehow the ink is drying out and clogging the brush tips. This is what is causing them to be of a different color and gummy. This can be caused by 3 things:
1. The inside of the cap has a residue built up and so the marker isn't sealing properly.
2. The inside of the cap is cracked and not sealing properly
3. When you color with the brush, you are only using the tiniest part of the tip, not the sides of the brush.
To solve the first two: Clean out the inside of the cap with a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol. Visually check for breaks or lumps of built-up ink. If the cap is broken then you would have to replace the marker, as we don't sell replacement caps.
If the marker tip has gummed up simply from years of repetitive use in the same manner, then here are some suggestions:
Carefully remove the tip with Copic tweezers or needle-nose pliers. Soak in a few drops of rubbing alcohol/blender solution, cleaning out the tip. Rinse and repeat until the tip turns almost white again. Let the nib dry out then replace into the marker.
To prevent this from happening in the future, color with the side of the brush. This keeps the ink flowing over the entire surface of the nib, preventing the gumminess from unused ink simply drying out as you are coloring with the tip of the brush. We had this happen at a make-n-take we had a few years ago. The people trying the markers were too timid, and only used the tip of the brush for so long that the whole nib gummed up from under-use.
If this still doesn't help, please let me know and we'll figure out how to fix the problem. Have a great weekend! -
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1SU cardstock is the only kind I have used and the only time I really have this problem is with the browns...
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EMPLOYEE
1Hi Melissa - Browns and darker colors are thicker than the others, and are more likely to have the problems listed above. If trying different paper doesn't work, try the steps listed above to clean out the tip and let us know if that helps.
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1I've had this same issue multiple time with my RV11 marker even right after buying a new one. At first I just thought it was because it was running low on ink and gumming up because of that, but even after having bought the new one after I've put down two or three layers of it (since I don't have a lot of pink colors) it starts to gum up on the page. -
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1So glad I found this site- I have been having the same problem with e25 especially. I use Paper temptress Cryrogen white iridescent and have been for a long time. The E's do this same thing- it lifts OFF the ink and leaves a shiny mark and streaky too. I changed nibs and still the same problem after putting down very little ink.
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1If your cap is broken but you don't want to buy a whole new marker, pick up an empty sketch marker (or whichever type of marker you are having problems with) and donor a cap off of it. With a little twisting and pulling, you can remove the colored plastic part of your old cap and put it in the top of your new cap, so the lid still matches your marker. I've had this problem before and this was my solution; it works perfectly. It may be a little bit much just for a new lid but it's cheaper than a new marker and the nibs can be used as replacement parts as well.
I've never had the gumming problem with XPress IT cardstock but other, thinner papers like Aquabee Artist Maker Paper give me this problem. The brown markers do this a lot, try to add a drop of fresh ink to the brush nib, scribble on some scrap paper to remove the gumminess and see if that helps. -
