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
Since I started using a fountain pen on a regular basis, I've been pretty conservative with my color selections, sticking to black and dark blues... And then along comes Bleu Pervenche. A bright super happy free-flowing turquoise that quickly earned a spot in my "keep keep keep" pile.
Tested above in a Canteo Journal on the left, and a Clairefontaine Basics on the right. I like this ink better on off-white/ivory paper as it is a little too contrasty (for my eyes) on bright white paper. It's a fairly saturated Herbin ink that has some shading. I have noticed a little bleeding/see-through when using this ink on certain papers. But I don't care, I'm going to use it anyway. :o)
I've used it for writing, annotating, drawing.... I really like this color so much more than I thought I would. It's a happy color.
Herbin inks run $8.75 per 30ml bottle at Pear Tree Pens
See a good article on Pentrace where I think they did a great job demonstrating the Herbin colors.
7 comments:
Love this color! Similar to Noodler's Navajo Turquoise, which is my current fav. Forget those boring navy blues!
More cheerful than it looks like it would be in the bottle. Who knew?!
My favorite shade of blue: it looks exactly like a clear blue sky in Seattle.
- Lily
That is a lovely blue! I really like seeing all the inks you have tried. You have some wonderful colours.
Hi Ro! Never tried the Noodler's, but this is a pretty glorious color. Very happy color.
I don't know Beth - I think it looks pretty happy in or out of the bottle. :o) I wasn't sure I'd like writing with it but once I filled a pen with it, I loved it.
Aw Lily.... I'm looking forward to some summer blue skies here to match the ink.
Thank you Gentian!
hi biffy,
as the undisputed queen of the quill, you will be able to advise me, i'm sure.
i live in south africa and unfortunately don't have access to the incredible range of pens, inks and notebooks that you lucky folk in the us do. i'd never heard of j. herbin or noodlers before i found your website, and don't know half of the pens, inks and stationery manufacturers that you talk about.
fortunately, i do have internet and can shop online when the credit card allows... i am planning on buying some clairefontaine notebooks based on your excellent review (in terms of their compatibility with fountain pens and inks) and will leave the mydology range for now (also based on your review of them).
i would also like to order some inks, but buying and shipping from the states at our exchange rate will be ruinously expensive, so i need to be absolutely sure that i'm buying the best.
so, my questions: (1) which ink is the best - noodlers or j. herbin? (2) can it be used in any fountain pen? (3) would you use it in a mont blanc? (i have heard that contrary to what mont blanc says, you can use other inks besides mb in the fountain pens.) (4) have you tested the notebooks produced by graphic image in new york? they look fabulous, but i don't know what the quality of the paper is like.
i must tell you that your website is a godsend, a lifeline, an addiction... i, too, am a fountain pen fiend, a stationery sucker, but sadly, there are not many like me here in south africa. but, as i said, i have internet - and as you said, it opens up the world to like-minded people.
really looking forward to your response.
lucy penwright
Hello Lucy, and thank you for the compliments on my blog! To answer your questions...
1. It's hard to say that anything is better than another. I have not extensively used any brand of ink, though I have tested a lot of the Herbin inks. When you try an ink, I think you are first attracted to a color, and then whether or not you like the way the ink flows in your pen. But even different inks within a particular brand can act differently. (more wet/dry lubricating or not)
2. Theoretically, any ink labeled for fountain pen use should be so. You never want to use any kind of calligraphy, drawing or India/China ink in a fountain pen because they contain particulates that can destroy (permanently clog) a pen.
3. I have no experience with Mont Blanc pens at all and that would be a question best posted over on the Fountain Pen Network's MB forum. I'm guessing that MB recommends their inks because they want to sell them. Herbin inks have been around for over 300 years... In that sense, I think that makes them pretty safe but YMMV. (Your mileage may vary) Some inks (Noodler's and Private Reserve) are very saturated and there has been general discussion on whether or not they are long term safe for FP use.
4. Graphic Image Notebooks? Not familiar...
And lastly.... If you want to try some inks, I suggest contacting James Partridge at Pear Tree Pens. They have a sampling system - that might be the best way for you to try loads of inks without having to spen a fortune.
Also - I highly recommend posting these questions and any others you might have over on the Fountain Pen Network so you can get a broader range of responses to help guide you with your decision making process.
Thanks loads for writing, and I appreciate your questions.
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