Copic Safe Inks I've tried

This is a bit of a goldilocks and the three ink pads kind of story.  When I first started using Copic markers I didn't own a Copic-safe ink pad. I needed to try a few different pads to find my favorite one.  I've tried four brands and found a fave, but there are several options on the market.  Let's talk about the ones I've tried and where I landed with my favorite.

My go-to black ink before getting to Copics was VersaFine Onyx Black.  This is still my first love, but it's not great for Copic coloring.  It is however the best for stamping sentiments.  That said this was the shade of black I compared everything to.  There is nothing wrong with any of the Copic-safe inks I'm going to talk about.  They're all great options.  

My first Copic safe ink was the Simon Says Intense Black.  This ink is Copic safe and worked well with my Copic coloring, but of all the black pads this was my least favorite.  For me it was not black enough, nor was it a true black.  I felt it to be a bit more of a grey black and when stamped along with a sentiment from my VersaFine, it was evident they had been stamped different blacks.  Back to the drawing board.

Next up, the original Gina K. Amalgam black, before the Obsidian pad came into play.  This black was better but still didn't seem to fit my need for a black-black.  This pad was replaced by the Obsidian Black Onyx and is no longer available.

Onto the My Favorite Things Extreme Black.  Nice ink, but I felt this one was a bit more brown-black.  When I was using this one I felt a double stamp was needed every time I stamped an image and it never quite matched up to my sentiments stamped in VersaFine.

Then came the Gina K. Amalgam Obsidian Black ink pad.  This pad was magic to my eyes.  The black is nearly identical to the VersaFine I was trying to match.  I fell in love, then came the great lockdown and the supply chain mess right when I needed a re-inker.  I couldn't find a re-inker anywhere, so would need to find a backup pad for Copic coloring until there was one available.  

Welcome to the black ink flock the Honey Bee Stamps Intense Black ink.  This is a bit more of a blue-black but was still closer to my VersaFine pad than the other options in my collection of black ink pads.

My go-to pad is Gina K. Amalgam Obsidian Black.  Once I had a refill I was back in business.  The Honey Bee Intense Black is still in the basket just in case.  As for the others they have moved on to other homes.  I wanted to take the time to share what I learned and tried.  All of these pads are great options, it just really depends on the black you're looking for.  Do you have a favorite black?