Review: J. Herbin Cafe des Isles Fountain Pen Ink

From the J Herbin website:

"J. Herbin is the oldest name in pen inks in the world. M. Herbin created “The Jewel of Inks” in his shop on the Rue des Fosses Saint-Germain in Paris in 1700."

"Each bottle of 30 ml has an integrated pen rest. They are known as “D bottle pen inks. The “D” refers to the old French unit of measure “la Demi Courtine”.

* 30 beautiful colors!
* Non toxic and pH neutral
* Lightfast
* Water based
* Flows smoothly and is fast drying
* All natural dyes



J. Herbin Cafe des Isles fountain pen ink tested in a extra fine nibbed Lamy Accent fountain pen. Clairefontaine Basics journal with 90g bright white paper.

Similar in saturation to Terre de Feu but not as reddish. This ink has really good flow. Dark caramel in color.

I'm not usually one for brown inks but I like this shade & love the flow so I think I'll keep it around for a while.

Herbin inks run $8.00 per 30ml bottle at The Ink Flow

All J. Herbin inks provided by Exaclair for the purpose of review.

Review: Diamine Woodland Green Fountain Pen Ink

Diamine Woodland Green fountain pen ink tested in an extra fine nibbed Lamy Safari fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal & Bloc Rhodia.

This ink is more subdued on the off white, brighter on the Rhodia. That's probably typical with most inks, but I find all inks easier to see on off-white paper. Less contrast.

Lots of shading, great flow, nicely saturated.

I usually don''t care for green inks and that makes it difficult to review them becasue what do I say? "It's a nice shade of green that I will likely never use?"

It's good. If you like green inks, it's a very nice green ink.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.

Review: Diamine Amber Fountain Pen Ink

Diamine Amber fountain pen ink tested in a extra fine nibbed Lamy Studio fountain pen. Paperblanks off-white ruled journal.

Slightly darker version of the Sunshine Yellow though not as bright. Very nice flow and pretty well saturated for a yellow. Nice shading but difficult to see.

Unsure of what conditions would be right to use this ink with how difficult it is to see. I'd be more prone to paint with it or at the very least, use it in a very wide nibbed pen.

Buy Diamine Inks in the UK at The Writing Desk or directly from Diamine and in the US from The Pear Tree Pen Company Ink is sold in 80ml glass bottles, 30 ml plastic bottles, and selected colors are available in cartridge form.