Pixiss Inks: First Impressions


Last week I tested out some T-rex alcohol inks that I picked up earlier this year. Today I decided to take a look at the other unopened box of inks I had in my craft stash.


These Pixiss alcohol inks come in a set of 25 inks and retail for around $39.99. I was able to pick them up when they were on sale for less than $24 which made each bottle less than a dollar. These small alcohol ink bottles usually retail for somewhere between $2-4 per bottle, so that made these Pixiss inks a great deal...if they were any good. 

As you can see, each bottle came wrapped in it's own individual plastic bag. Which, I suppose is to keep ink from leaking all over everything, but was a lot of unnecessary plastic packaging. Especially since each of the bottles also has a little safety ring that you have to pop off when you first open them.


So just like with last week's ink test, I dripped a single drop on a tile and tried to move it around by tilting the tile. That didn't go so well. The ink immediately spread out into a blob. The T-rex, Ranger, and even Pinata inks, all moved across the tile without turning into a single blob. 


So I went a step further and used some rubbing alcohol and blending solution along with a hand bulb blower to move the inks around. I grabbed the two tiles that I made last week with their respective inks and went ahead and made up a sample tile for Pinata, too. As you can see. They all blow around the tile and create interesting patterns. So even though the Pixiss was a blob to start with, it seems to behave fairly similarly to the other inks when thinned.


I grabbed some more inks and blew them around the tile. I found that most of the time, I didn't even need to thin the ink to get it to move--the inks were so thin to begin with. Which would be a benefit for small projects like this one, but for other larger designs, it would mean needing to use a lot of ink to get a vibrant design. The tile turned out cute, and I didn't need to use much thinner to make the inks flow.


Next I decided to use some inks to create a stamped tile. I applied a few drops to a felt applicator along with a drop of rubbing alcohol and stamped the tile. The inks were a lot less vibrant for this type of application than the brands I've used before (Ranger, Pinata, and T-rex). But the finished product was still pretty, just softer colors. It also took a long time for the ink to become tacky enough to create little cells or circles when stamping.


Final verdict: They're ok. They aren't as vibrant as the other inks I have tried, and they are definitely thinner. If you're used to Ranger, Pinata, etc... quality, you may want to pass on these. If you are just starting out and not sure if you want to invest money into alcohol inks, these are ok and do go on sale from time to time, making them a reasonable price for the quality.

 

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