Water based inks and paints are what is known as an 'acrylic' paint. It is what 95% of people here use. All GW paints are acrylics. Once dried they are not water soluble, so don't worry about that. Vallejo is considered one of the top acrylic paint brands. If you wash your brush off in water when you are done using it you are using a water based paint. The other types require nasty chemicals to clean your brushes.
Non acrylic paints require special thinners to use. The other 3 main types are enamel (need paint thinner), laquer (need laquer thinner), and oil (need paint thinner). Non-acrylic paints are fairly toxic, many require the use of painting masks to protect your lungs.
Acrylics are a bit fragile compared to the other types of paints, which is why you always seal with a laquer finish, like GW's purity seal.
While I'm a big supporter of the other types of paints (they tend to have great depth of color, a slow drying time that allows for blending, and a tough finish) 95% of models you see, even at the golden demon awards, use acrylics.
Especially good modelers will use oil or enamel paint for weathering, but most of the coat is acrylic.
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