Thanks for the comparison-it validated what I suspected to be true of the Simon Hurley and CP inks- that both are essentially the same with exception of felt pad vs foam pad. I have used many brands and as is true of felt ink pads the image will require more than 1 stamp to get a good image which doesn't really bother me as I use my Misty for mostly all stamping. When it comes to embossing I'm still old school and bring out my pigment ink pads. I enjoy my Simon Hurley ink pads and actually purchased them after having purchased way too many complete sets of other brands (guilty of the "whole set syndrome" LOL) and still not happy with blending, etc. As you said too, inks are as only as good as the blending tool and the paper you use.
I think I lean toward Simon Hurley ink pads because I’m used to a felt pad but when it comes to get all the shades I want, I’m going to get some Catherine Pooler inks.
Thanks for this comparison. I do love Catherine Pooler ink. I have only purchased 1 Simon ink in my endless search for a natural green. His ink was fine but the Gator color didn't meet my expectation. Based on your review, I will try more. I too have concerns of having to refill CP ink and the fact that I can never use her inks without getting it all over my hands, my card, or my clothing.
I love what The Frugal Crafter and Jennifer McGuire practice, when it comes to dye ink pads. They buy whatever brand they like the color of and mix them in their storage according to the rainbow. My type A personality has always resisted that but I’m finally giving in. Because no one line of inks can have every single shade of every color. And since a lot of the higher quality brands are so similar in the way they behave, we can feel free to do that instead of being a brand purist. 😊
Thanks for the ink pad input. I have a Momento black, 5 distress oxides and the rest of my ink pads are cheap, cheap, cheap. I'm still using pads I had from when I taught preschool 15yrs. ago. I really need to invest in some better inks. Until then, I'll keep stamping along like a 4yr. old.
Great Comparison. I don’t own any Simon Hurley ink but have heard great things and I’m itching to try but I won’t because like you my real estate is limited. I do own most of the Catherine Pooler inks in the mini sizes. I really must work hard to get them to blend 😞 but over all I really like them. Again, thank you for the comparison.
Fantastic comparison! A friend and I have been curious about Simon's pads. She LOVES her CP inks. I am too heavy handed for those pads. I don't care for them. I love that you describe your craftroom like Manhattan. I just lost my craftroom. My craft space is definitely like Manhattan!
I like the Catherine Pooler, I bought them for stamping solid images and they do great and the colors are gorgeous. . However, I tried blending with them at the same time as with my Gina K and Distress Oxides and I did not like the results of the CP blending. I will not be buying the Simon Hurley, I already have several lines of inks that fit all my needs now. So no need to buy another brand. Great to see this comparison though. Thank you!
This was interesting! I only have one CP & no SH ink pads. I'll get a few more oxides that I think I need & I'll likely be set. I noticed at least on camera that tiki torch looks like a match to guppy. I don't like the style of ink pad that CP has. The plastic around CPs ink pad is always inky, which gets in my fingers, then it gets on my card where it doesn't belong. I don't like the names of Simon's. They're fun, but some don't give me even a clue as to what the color is. I'm curious how close aquatini & tropical tango are when blended out. They seemed close, but there were several in between so it was hard to tell. Lol. I realize you were trying to ink them the same, but just tapping really isn't the way to ink a felt or linen type pad. We always taught Twist Twist tap tap tap. Lol. But I do think the foam pads have better coverage than felt/ linen pads if a person isn't too heavy handed when stamping or reinking. When embossing dye ink I just ink with vmark then into dye ink, then stamp. I would love to get some more versafine Clair, since I only have nocturne. I do like her minis that are pretty much twice the size of cubes. I am a hobby SU Demo so I have all their ink pads & card stock. I like that it all coordinates, but sometimes wish I'd invested in a different ink brand. I love that altenew has 4 shades of each color, but they're cardstock is expensive, as is Catherine's. I also didn't like, but was glad you pointed out the way Simon's pad kind of bowed. I hate the new design of SU ink pads since I have hand issues that make them hard to open, but for now at least I'll stick with them. Their cs is good quality & much cheaper & matches my inks. A few more oxides & a few more vfine Claire's if I can get the refills, & I'll be set. For your CPs, you mentioned your fingers get inky also, blue knight rubber stamps sells a wood stamp block with magnets on it, (or make your own if you have the blocks) & Amazon has 12/5.99 mount metal plates with sticky backs that you put on the back of ink pads, then hold the pad by the wood block that magnets on. Less chance of dropping the ink pad, & less inky fingers. I love getting messy if I'm doing techniques, but hate stray fingerprints on a CAS card. Lol. Wow, apologies for how long this was.
I love these inks. I have just bought the minis and they are amazing for stamping. I don't need them to blend really as I use Distress inks for that ( I mean, everyone probably has Distress inks already :D). I chose hers over Simon Hurley due to the minis. Her minis are so good, its not a tiny cube like Distress and are bit bigger. Your video have now confirmed to me that they stamp better which was my main point of getting them so thank you. Am slightly concerned about your comment that they need reinking more as I never buy re-inkers since I don't craft on a daily basis, but will just have to see on that, but still very impressed with the Catherine Pooler ink pads.
Are the CP ink pads stackable? I bought a set of mini CP inks at expo 2 years ago. Loved them. Wanted to get more next expo...then Covid-19 hit. I had hoped to see some of Simon’s products at expo also, but not yet. I like the fact that CP ink pads come in many different colors. Great for layering stamp sets. Good video. Thank you.
Idk if it matters, but the foam pads will eventually break down. I have been doing work with ink pads for almost 30 years, and have seen it happen. I always thought that if I had a pad and reinker, the pad was basically good forever, and the idea that the pad has a shelf life never occurred to me, until one disintegrated in my hands.
@@Betsiemorris I just remember some TH-cam video stating that it was part pigment ink- but if you Google it it says it is dye ink. They have changed dye inks over the years a great deal! Thanks for pointing this out
I have been crippling by with old Ranger dye inkpads I picked up at garage sales and thrift stores many years ago. The colors have long been discontinued, I can't get re-inkers for them, so I have re-inked them a couple of times with a DIY formula using printer inks, and a little glycerin. I've really exhausted my options and need to invest in some new ink pads. The one thing I did not see in your comparison is using them with different stamps. I would like to see how they compare using silicone stamps and red rubber stamps, as well as the photo polymer. I know that using the Ranger ink pads, even Simon Hurley's ink pads of which I have four, it seems to take a lot of my strength to get a good inking of my stamps with his felt pads to get a good impression. I've got severe joint issues (awaiting a total shoulder replacement when the covid pandemic finally ends) so stamping can be painful if it takes a lot of pressure. Any tips you have regarding my question will be greatly appreciated.
I understand! I would recommend Catherine Pooler ink pads for you. Her pads require light easy taps. They also work well with all stamp types. Red Rubber stamps are the easiest to ink up and that’s why I only compared them with clear - the are more challenging to get good coverage 🙂.
@@Betsiemorris thank you for your reply. I need to get the measurements on the CP minis because I have a finite area to store them in (DIY foam core board units) and hope I can place 2 on each shelf. Off to shop!
I LOVE the Simon Hurley inks, but I'm not a huge fan of those felt pads. Although I can see where they also have some advantage in not OVER-inking things. But I'm not sure that's a fair comparison for stamping, because I think the different types of pads are meant to be used differently. On the foam pad you should tap the surface, but on the felt pad I think maybe you're supposed to press it down instead of just tapping.
Actually, yes I can. It is my craft room and my channel. AND the dobber I used were specifically for the pads. I could not afford to use a new one because I did not get paid to make this video. If you want to see that kind of thing find a content creator who works for the company. Otherwise please be kind and appreciate those of us that bring value to people like you while not making a dime from the companies and spending our own money.
On your stamping comparison Hurley's yellow stamped better than Pooler's. It looks as if you moved the stamp ed image when you stamped Hurley's blue and smudged it. for the embossed colors I see no difference between either one. But I think you over embossed the purple of Hurley's, the embossing sunk right into the paper, You can not over heat embossing powder.
Wow, all I have to say is the Simon Hurley pad needed reinking. Both the stamping and embossing showed poor coverage of ink. The ink blending was not a true comparison either-you should have used identical brand new foam pads for blending. Using a new rounded pad for CP and a well saturated flat foam pad for SH was not equal in any way. It looks like the SH pad is probably a felt pad because you can see the tiny frayed edges. I was interested in seeing how the two inks compared in properties. The color match is probably not important because once the color is on a card with other colors no one-not even you, will say that a particular color is brighter or has more brown, or whatever. I appreciate your effort and time.
@@Betsiemorris I just ordered her Party Collection of inks and refills. I tried to talk myself out of it because i have so many ink pads. Well after a week i did it. Thanks for the demo. Very interesting.
You shouldn’t have to cook your embossing powder for so long. Maybe you need a new embossing heat tool. And yeah, I get that this was done 3 years ago and you may have got one by now. Lol. 😂
Thank you for doing an honest review. It was very helpful. I subscribed because you’re awesome!
Thanks for the comparison-it validated what I suspected to be true of the Simon Hurley and CP inks- that both are essentially the same with exception of felt pad vs foam pad. I have used many brands and as is true of felt ink pads the image will require more than 1 stamp to get a good image which doesn't really bother me as I use my Misty for mostly all stamping. When it comes to embossing I'm still old school and bring out my pigment ink pads. I enjoy my Simon Hurley ink pads and actually purchased them after having purchased way too many complete sets of other brands (guilty of the "whole set syndrome" LOL) and still not happy with blending, etc. As you said too, inks are as only as good as the blending tool and the paper you use.
I love my Misti!
I think I lean toward Simon Hurley ink pads because I’m used to a felt pad but when it comes to get all the shades I want, I’m going to get some Catherine Pooler inks.
Thanks for this comparison. I do love Catherine Pooler ink. I have only purchased 1 Simon ink in my endless search for a natural green. His ink was fine but the Gator color didn't meet my expectation. Based on your review, I will try more. I too have concerns of having to refill CP ink and the fact that I can never use her inks without getting it all over my hands, my card, or my clothing.
I love what The Frugal Crafter and Jennifer McGuire practice, when it comes to dye ink pads. They buy whatever brand they like the color of and mix them in their storage according to the rainbow. My type A personality has always resisted that but I’m finally giving in. Because no one line of inks can have every single shade of every color. And since a lot of the higher quality brands are so similar in the way they behave, we can feel free to do that instead of being a brand purist. 😊
Thank you for this comparison! I am relatively new to card banking and I need a good ink that blends well.
Thanks again!!
Nice comprehensive tests. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the ink pad input. I have a Momento black, 5 distress oxides and the rest of my ink pads are cheap, cheap, cheap. I'm still using pads I had from when I taught preschool 15yrs. ago. I really need to invest in some better inks. Until then, I'll keep stamping along like a 4yr. old.
There is no shame in that! I’m proud of you for not going out and buying them all!
Thank you for sharing your videos
Great Comparison. I don’t own any Simon Hurley ink but have heard great things and I’m itching to try but I won’t because like you my real estate is limited. I do own most of the Catherine Pooler inks in the mini sizes. I really must work hard to get them to blend 😞 but over all I really like them. Again, thank you for the comparison.
I feel you on the real estate! 🖤🤎🤍
Great info comparison- thanks sharing
Fantastic comparison! A friend and I have been curious about Simon's pads. She LOVES her CP inks. I am too heavy handed for those pads. I don't care for them.
I love that you describe your craftroom like Manhattan. I just lost my craftroom. My craft space is definitely like Manhattan!
I’m so sorry to hear you lost your craft room! That is so sad! I’m glad you found this helpful 🙂
Its called a re-inker... Great video and super helpful as I build my supplies.
I like the Catherine Pooler, I bought them for stamping solid images and they do great and the colors are gorgeous. . However, I tried blending with them at the same time as with my Gina K and Distress Oxides and I did not like the results of the CP blending. I will not be buying the Simon Hurley, I already have several lines of inks that fit all my needs now. So no need to buy another brand. Great to see this comparison though. Thank you!
I agree! Don’t buy more ink if you have others that fit your needs.
This was interesting! I only have one CP & no SH ink pads. I'll get a few more oxides that I think I need & I'll likely be set. I noticed at least on camera that tiki torch looks like a match to guppy. I don't like the style of ink pad that CP has. The plastic around CPs ink pad is always inky, which gets in my fingers, then it gets on my card where it doesn't belong. I don't like the names of Simon's. They're fun, but some don't give me even a clue as to what the color is. I'm curious how close aquatini & tropical tango are when blended out. They seemed close, but there were several in between so it was hard to tell. Lol. I realize you were trying to ink them the same, but just tapping really isn't the way to ink a felt or linen type pad. We always taught Twist Twist tap tap tap. Lol. But I do think the foam pads have better coverage than felt/ linen pads if a person isn't too heavy handed when stamping or reinking. When embossing dye ink I just ink with vmark then into dye ink, then stamp. I would love to get some more versafine Clair, since I only have nocturne. I do like her minis that are pretty much twice the size of cubes. I am a hobby SU Demo so I have all their ink pads & card stock. I like that it all coordinates, but sometimes wish I'd invested in a different ink brand. I love that altenew has 4 shades of each color, but they're cardstock is expensive, as is Catherine's. I also didn't like, but was glad you pointed out the way Simon's pad kind of bowed. I hate the new design of SU ink pads since I have hand issues that make them hard to open, but for now at least I'll stick with them. Their cs is good quality & much cheaper & matches my inks. A few more oxides & a few more vfine Claire's if I can get the refills, & I'll be set. For your CPs, you mentioned your fingers get inky also, blue knight rubber stamps sells a wood stamp block with magnets on it, (or make your own if you have the blocks) & Amazon has 12/5.99 mount metal plates with sticky backs that you put on the back of ink pads, then hold the pad by the wood block that magnets on. Less chance of dropping the ink pad, & less inky fingers. I love getting messy if I'm doing techniques, but hate stray fingerprints on a CAS card. Lol. Wow, apologies for how long this was.
No apologies needed! You have valid points 🦋
I love these inks. I have just bought the minis and they are amazing for stamping. I don't need them to blend really as I use Distress inks for that ( I mean, everyone probably has Distress inks already :D). I chose hers over Simon Hurley due to the minis. Her minis are so good, its not a tiny cube like Distress and are bit bigger. Your video have now confirmed to me that they stamp better which was my main point of getting them so thank you. Am slightly concerned about your comment that they need reinking more as I never buy re-inkers since I don't craft on a daily basis, but will just have to see on that, but still very impressed with the Catherine Pooler ink pads.
So glad it helped clarify! I live in a dry climate, so my need for the reinkers may be different than yours 🙂
Are the CP ink pads stackable? I bought a set of mini CP inks at expo 2 years ago. Loved them. Wanted to get more next expo...then Covid-19 hit. I had hoped to see some of Simon’s products at expo also, but not yet. I like the fact that CP ink pads come in many different colors. Great for layering stamp sets. Good video. Thank you.
The full size are stackable! 🙂🙂🙂
Idk if it matters, but the foam pads will eventually break down. I have been doing work with ink pads for almost 30 years, and have seen it happen. I always thought that if I had a pad and reinker, the pad was basically good forever, and the idea that the pad has a shelf life never occurred to me, until one disintegrated in my hands.
I thought Simon Hurley ink pads were felt?
Are Simon Hurley’s die inks on felt or foam? I am guessing felt...
I say “ love the one (you own) your with! Your Crown Me pad may need re inking, looking at how it stamped.
Catherine Pooler inks to my understanding is a hybrid ink. It is part pigment and part dye ink. That is why it takes a bit longer for CP ink to dry.
I know that is what Distress Oxides are….I don’t think CP inks are hybrid. They dry a little quick for part pigment, but I could be wrong.
@@Betsiemorris I just remember some TH-cam video stating that it was part pigment ink- but if you Google it it says it is dye ink. They have changed dye inks over the years a great deal! Thanks for pointing this out
No Catheriine Pooler are not hybrid, it's dye.
I have been crippling by with old Ranger dye inkpads I picked up at garage sales and thrift stores many years ago. The colors have long been discontinued, I can't get re-inkers for them, so I have re-inked them a couple of times with a DIY formula using printer inks, and a little glycerin. I've really exhausted my options and need to invest in some new ink pads. The one thing I did not see in your comparison is using them with different stamps. I would like to see how they compare using silicone stamps and red rubber stamps, as well as the photo polymer. I know that using the Ranger ink pads, even Simon Hurley's ink pads of which I have four, it seems to take a lot of my strength to get a good inking of my stamps with his felt pads to get a good impression. I've got severe joint issues (awaiting a total shoulder replacement when the covid pandemic finally ends) so stamping can be painful if it takes a lot of pressure. Any tips you have regarding my question will be greatly appreciated.
I understand! I would recommend Catherine Pooler ink pads for you. Her pads require light easy taps. They also work well with all stamp types. Red Rubber stamps are the easiest to ink up and that’s why I only compared them with clear - the are more challenging to get good coverage 🙂.
@@Betsiemorris thank you for your reply. I need to get the measurements on the CP minis because I have a finite area to store them in (DIY foam core board units) and hope I can place 2 on each shelf. Off to shop!
I LOVE the Simon Hurley inks, but I'm not a huge fan of those felt pads. Although I can see where they also have some advantage in not OVER-inking things.
But I'm not sure that's a fair comparison for stamping, because I think the different types of pads are meant to be used differently. On the foam pad you should tap the surface, but on the felt pad I think maybe you're supposed to press it down instead of just tapping.
I def press hard on a felt pad whereas on a foam one just a tap. I like them for different reasons too 😀
I don’t think I could handle the CP ink on the sides of the case, ocd bad, lol…. Thanks
Yes! That is def an issue for me too!
You cant use an already inked dobber with simon and use a brand new dobber with catherine poolers.
Actually, yes I can. It is my craft room and my channel. AND the dobber I used were specifically for the pads. I could not afford to use a new one because I did not get paid to make this video. If you want to see that kind of thing find a content creator who works for the company. Otherwise please be kind and appreciate those of us that bring value to people like you while not making a dime from the companies and spending our own money.
On your stamping comparison Hurley's yellow stamped better than Pooler's. It looks as if you moved the stamp ed image when you stamped Hurley's blue and smudged it. for the embossed colors I see no difference between either one. But I think you over embossed the purple of Hurley's, the embossing sunk right into the paper, You can not over heat embossing powder.
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Really great observations🙂!
Wow, all I have to say is the Simon Hurley pad needed reinking. Both the stamping and embossing showed poor coverage of ink. The ink blending was not a true comparison either-you should have used identical brand new foam pads for blending. Using a new rounded pad for CP and a well saturated flat foam pad for SH was not equal in any way. It looks like the SH pad is probably a felt pad because you can see the tiny frayed edges. I was interested in seeing how the two inks compared in properties. The color match is probably not important because once the color is on a card with other colors no one-not even you, will say that a particular color is brighter or has more brown, or whatever. I appreciate your effort and time.
I bought Simon's pads on a recommendation of a YTer. I'm disappointed in how they stamp. That broke my bank so I can't get another.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. Have you contacted Ranger and let them know?
Simon embosses alot with Ranger Archival ink and clear embossing powder! Just saying...
Thank you for the information! I’m going to try it 🙂
Tim Hurley is a felt pad, not foam. Catherine Poole is foam.
I have both types of inks. I love CP Much better stamped image. Simons inks seemed so dry to me even tho I just bought them
I think it’s the pad that makes it seem that way. I love CP ink, but it dries out faster than others. It’s the only ink I have refills for.
@@Betsiemorris I just ordered her Party Collection of inks and refills. I tried to talk myself out of it because i have so many ink pads. Well after a week i did it. Thanks for the demo. Very interesting.
For stamping think CP better!
You shouldn’t have to cook your embossing powder for so long. Maybe you need a new embossing heat tool. And yeah, I get that this was done 3 years ago and you may have got one by now. Lol. 😂
I disagree. Catherine Pooler inks are far more bendable.