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Quick comparison of two similar inks I happened to have. Both write and behave really well, although similarly not great on cheap paper. The swabs are pretty shabby because I only have Summer Purple in cartridge form, so I couldn't get much ink on the cotton swab. I made the Poussiere de Lune swab the same way by getting it from the converter instead of dipping in the bottle. Both are great inks, I might prefer the color of the Herbin slightly more. Hard to tell on such wet fine nibs but the color differences are noticeable when they shade to their lighter tones. School notebook paper, the color difference is a bit more noticeable. Both spread and bleed through almost exactly the same way (56g/cm³)

Note: The Diamine Pumpkin comparison looks very similar in the poor scan, but is actually distinct from the Orange Indien. The ink is less red and more orange in reality.

Amazon.com.au just dropped the price on 500ml bottles of Herbin Perle Noire ink, sold and shipped by Amazon UK, to $45.92. Includes free delivery to Australia to Prime members here. OK, that isn't cheaper than I could have scored from La Couronne du Comte before it went out of business, with stacked discounts, no GST paid, and (as part of a large enough order) free international shipping; but it comes pretty close. With LCdC now gone, I don't think I can do much better in the near term ordering from any other retailer.

As someone who has properly studied French, I cringe every single time when people pronounce the French brand J Herbin as 'Shay Herbaaaaaan.' Even S Brown, who seems particulate in the spelling of foreign words, makes this mistake, though I forgive him for that since his doctorate is not anything about language. Please, guys. Stop. I don't know why but if someone pronounces a German word wrong, someone else will correct him immediately, but that's never the case for French. The correct pronunciation is more like 'Shī Airbang.' So J in French is not Shay but sounds more like G; the 'her' in Herbin is pronounced without the 'H' sound; and the 'n' at the end is not pronounced. I'd like to encourage you to watch this short clip. The pronunciation here is on point. https://youtu.be/1DAaJa77ju0 Otherwise, just simply say Jay Her-bin. It's still much better sounding.

I haven’t heard many people talk about this, so I just wanted to make those who are unaware now aware. Here is just a quick thing on some price comparisons. “Retail” price was taken from online fountain pen and ink retailers: DIAMINE 30ml Cult Pens- $2.47 Retail- $7.50 PELIKAN 4001 30ml Cult Pens- $4.82 Retail- $11.75 ROHRER & KLINGNER 50ml Cult Pens- $5 Retail- $11.95 PARKER QUINK 57ml Cult Pens- $5.21 Retail- $11.02 DIAMINE 80ml Cult Pens- $6.21 Retail- $14.95 WATERMAN 50ml Cult Pens- $6.51 Retail- $12 PELIKAN 4001 62.5ml Cult Pens- $7.52 Retail- $16.50 DIAMINE 150th ANNIVERSARY 40ml Cult Pens- $8.15 Retail- $15.50 HERBIN 30ml Cult Pens- $8.40 Retail- $12.95 KAWECO 50ml Cult Pens- $8.41 Retail- $12 CROSS 62.5ml Cult Pens- $9.47 Retail- $16 LAMY CRYSTAL 30ml Cult Pens- $9.99 Retail- $16 JACQUES HERBIN 1670 50ml Cult Pens- $18.39 Retail- $29.50 JACQUES HERBIN 1798 50ml Cult Pens- $21.02 Retail- $29.50 MONTBLANC AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS BLUE 50ml Cult Pens- $33.66 Retail- $40 I just wanted to tell all of you who weren’t aware. Have a nice day, W. Major

Three 'taupe' (grey brown) fountain pen inks, two French, one German: J. Herbin La Perle des Encres Cacao du Bresil L'Artisan Pastellier Classique Brun Ours Rohrer & Klingner Schreibtinte Sepia These three colors are very close. Two of them are nearly indistinguishable, at least to me, but there are differences. I'm tentatively planning a combined review of these three similarly-colored inks but, in the meantime, here's a teaser quiz: three writing samples with my normal, quick note-taking hand, all using the same type of pen - 3 different Pilot 78Gs with 'B' nibs, a dry pen with a fairly crisp italic nib that I enjoy a lot - Rhodia paper from a pad, and each writing sample uses a different one of the above three inks. The photos were taken in the same light at nearly the same time (late afternoon indirect sun). The goal of this quiz is to match the ink - Cacao du Bresil, Brun Ours, & Sepia - used with each writing sample: A, B, & C. After you have had a few days to take a guess I will try to post chromatography photos. And your impressions of the inks are welcome and encouraged, of course!

Since succumbing to the Hobonichi Cousin last year, I have been enjoying matching my fountain pen ink colour to that of the daily pages. The Japanese versions of this planner has lovely, slightly dusty, faded vintage colours which change for each month. The whole page is printed in that colour - grid, Japanese quote, date and day markets etc. So I thought it would be fun to write using a matching ink - a great excuse for exploring some of the glorious colours now available and a built in excuse for changing inks regularly. This idea was inspired by a blog I saw (sorry, can't remember who) where the writer had done a similar project but using gel pens. I know everyone's experiences of ink colour is different, depending on pen, nib, paper, how heavy-handed your are, phase of the moon (who knows? Maybe) but I thought someone out there may be doing something similar and we could share our thoughts. Anyway, here are my selections so far: January: burnt orange - Monteverde Fire Opal February: bronze brown - my own mix using Platinum mixable inks March: pinky purple - Herbin Larmes de Cassis April: red pink - Colorverse Sea Europa May: bright olive - KWZ green Gold Ii or Monami Olive June: grey green - another custom mix - see above July: grey turquoise - Birmingham Pen Co Fountain Turquoise August: blue grey - another custom mix - see above September: warm brown - Krishna Vaikhari October: grey purple - another custom mix - see above November: pine green - Birmingham Pen Co Fern Hollow Creek December: faded red - another custom mix - see above. As you can see, I've ended up mixing some colours myself - lots of fun, and I'm less happy with some of the other choices so will need to explore further. For example, I find the Herbin colours a bit watery but haven't yet found a similar colour to Larmes de Cassis; the Krishna Vaikhari is a nice colour but not quite yellow enough... I generally stick to relatively easily available inks and would like to expand the brands but I like this selection as a first pass. I should add that I'm using a Pilot Metro with a Plumix EF or F calligraphy nib. If anyone else is doing this, I'd love to see your choices or generally, any thoughts.

Hello, I was just wondering if it’s just me or do you guys have a specific pen for a specific notebook? This ink color for this pen color only? I use my pilot kakunos (M,F,EF) with colors black, gris nuage, diamine grey, respectively, for my midori notebook journal. My kawecosport (BB) in the shade earl grey for midori everyday journal. 2 Kawecosport (EF) using Vinta in the shade perya and ubi for midori and rhodia notes. Kaweco perkeo (M) using smokey grey for random scribbles and midori travel journal. Am I the only one? Lol

From the Jacques Herbin site: "To celebrate the 350th anniversary of Jacques Herbin’s original brand, we are letting the people who know us best, our fans, choose the new colour of our next anniversary ink. This will form part of the official Jacques Herbin collection. Our ink experts have designed four very distinct shades. The range varies from pastel to dark, soft to flamboyant and tender to lively, each with shimmering and radiant reflections. Each one unique. And to mark this vintage in an even more spectacular way, we decided to create a unique Jacques Herbin ink with both silver and gold glitter that will add sparkle to your writing! So what do you need to do? You have until 16th March to vote and let us know your favourite below. The result will then be verified, and we will reveal the results by email in early April. As if you needed more of a reason to vote, the Jacques Herbin team will then randomly select FIVE voters to exclusively preview the new ink in the luxury of their own home. The winning ink will be available from selected stationery retailers, ink specialists and boutiques for purchase from September 2020." https://www.jacquesherbin.com/en/new-anniversary-ink-survey.html

I have always loved and used Herbin Rouille D'Ancre, which, for all its quirks (listed elsewhere) I find to be a unique "Gentleman's Pink". . . . . until I discovered a near doppelganger which, ulp, might be an improvement on the original (although similarly loathed by reviewers on here!). . . . . and then yesterday a third, although this one tends a bit more "rust" . . . . which might also make it the salmon/coral that I have been searching for but not yet found? Still in the heady days of first love here, so I'll report back with clearer spectacles as the roses fall off, but here's a first sample: Another arrangement: I didn't label them as a kind of a quiz! One is the French original, one is from Japan (ergo costly as a US import), and one is from Germany - but which is which? (I'd be happy to tell, if anyone is interested!)

I don’t know if it’s the warm and sunny weather that just hit the northeast after a cold spell, but, more than ever, I’m not ready for summer to end! So to keep the summery vibe going, I thought why not do a comparison of turquoise and “beachy blue" inks. This is by no means a comprehensive review, because I’m missing some great turquoise inks, such as Sheaffer and Lamy Turquoise, but I saw a post come up on the boards with questions about turquoises, so I wanted to share samples of the ones I have. The 15 inks tested are: Caran d’Ache Turquoise, Omas Turquoise, Rohrer & Klingner Blu Mare, J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-Iro, Waterman Inspired Blue, Pelikan Turquoise, Montblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise, Diamine Aqua Blue, Visconti Turquoise, Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Diamine Asa Blue, Diamine Florida Blue and Diamine Mediterranean Blue. The writing samples were done using a 1950s 146 and a Pilot Custom 74 B nib ground down to a smooth stub by Mike Masuyama. All samples were tested on Rhodia paper. Ink Swabs: Ink on Paper Towel: Top Row: Caran d’Ache Turquoise, Omas Turquoise, Rohrer & Klingner Blu Mare, J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-Iro, Waterman Inspired Blue, Pelikan Turquoise Bottom Row: Montblanc Honore de Balzac Dandy Turquoise, Diamine Aqua Blue, Visconti Turquoise, Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Diamine Asa Blue, Diamine Florida Blue and Diamine Mediterranean Blue Best Flow and Smoothness: J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche Bleu Pervenche wins hands down for me in this category and is miles ahead of every other ink in this review. With that said, although it has an excellent flow, l wish Bleu Pervenche felt a little smoother (to match the smoothness of my favorite inks). However, this is the only turquoise with a regular spot in my ink rotation. Best Turquoise Color: Rohrer & Klingner Blu Mare This is by far my favorite shade of turquoise. It offers a nice mix of blue and green that leans more towards the blue side (which I prefer). In a wet nib, it is the most vibrant of the turquoise inks tested - so vibrant in fact that it makes me want to pull out a pair of sunglasses . The ink has a good flow (though not as high as Bleu Pervenche) but is missing the high level of smoothness I look for in a go-to ink. However, I love the color so much that I did get a bottle. Best Beachy Blue Color: Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-Iro and Diamine Florida Blue (Tie) I love the color of both of these inks, but I do not own bottles of either. I consider Ama-Iro to a "beachy blue" rather than a turquoise because it needs a little more green to be a true turquoise. I really love its bright, light blue color, which screams summer fun, but didn't enjoy the feeling of writing with the ink enough in the flexy 146 to buy a full bottle especially given its higher price point. I should note that I may have been especially tough on Ama-Iro because I was expecting a higher level of smoothness from an Iroshizuku ink. Florida Blue and Mediterranean Blue are close enough in color that someone looking to keep their ink spending to a minimum wouldn't need to own both. Florida Blue has a better flow, and, since I like wetter inks, I wouldn't think twice about using it over Mediterranean Blue. (Mediterranean blue is not a dry ink but someone looking for less wetness might prefer it; it is also a little lighter and exhibits slightly more shading than its Floridian counterpart.) Highest Sheening Ink (on Rhodia): Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki Kon-Peki is not a monster sheener on Rhodia (like some of the Sailor inks I’ve recently tried) but still offers a subtle and beautiful pink shimmering halo around its blue letters. Some posts have asked how it compares to Edelstein Topaz and, as others have noted, both inks are similar in that they are cerulean blues with pink sheen. (I've noticed that Topaz sheens tremendously on Tomoe River Paper, but in this comparison it barely showed any sheen around the letters.) If I had to choose only one of the two inks, it would be Kon-Peki. The color is brighter and the ink has a better flow. Lowest Performer: Caran d’Ache Turquoise I really did not like this ink and was expecting more from a $30+ ink. It was so thin that it took the fun out of writing with my favorite pen (and I almost stopped the review to change writers). Other notable mentions: Light Turquoise: Visconti and Omas Turquoise (tie) Both inks are on the lighter end of the turquoise spectrum and could be a good option for someone looking for such a shade. I prefer the flow of the Omas but like the color of the Visconti better. (I would have liked for the Visconti to perform more like its brother ink, Visconti Blue, which offers a smoother writing experience.) Dark Beachy Blue: Diamine Asa Blue Asa Blue is a beautiful and interesting color in that it is paradoxically both dark and beachy. It has a good flow but an ok smoothness. Montblanc Dandy Turquoise Alternative: Pelikan Turquoise I love this shade of turquoise and have found that with the right pen and paper combination it can offer wonderful color variation. (I've noticed much more color variation using a Visconti HS.) For anyone who was not able to get a bottle during its limited run, I think that Pelikan Turquoise is a pretty close alternative.

Scented Inks — Encre Parfumée

KWZ Brown Pink Diamine Merlot Herbin Poussiere del Lune Diamine Tyrian Purple The KWZ, like many others from Konrad, looks almost black when pooled, with a velvety, matt sheen. It is the most free-flowing of the bunch. The Diamines have a very slight golden sheen, more evident on Tomoe than on this Rhodia; Tyrian Purple is the least saturated of the bunch and exhibits a more pronounced halo effect when used with the flat nib. Poussiere de Lune is more blue than the others. If I had to pick a favourite, it'd be Tyrian Purple

I was given some Poussière de Lune for Christmas, which was lovely. But I would prefer it to be a touch redder. I've tried blending it with Sheaffer Skrip Red, and that works, but even at 3 Poussière to 1 Skrip, it's a bit too red. Has anyone played around with something like this? I'm surprised relatively little of the Skrip makes so much difference. The perfect mix for me is probably around 5 or 6 to 1, but before I work on it further, I thought I would ask for some advice...

Hey guys! I was pondering whether or not to order a full bottle of KWZ Azure #1 and I made this to help me decide. It didn't look extremely ugly so I decided to share, maybe it can be useful or something

Sometimes I get an ink and it exceeds all of my expectations. Everything clicks, and I love it immediately. That happened with J. Herbin's Vert de Gris. It was the last of 5 Herbin inks from my recent order that I opened and tested, as I thought "well, it's just a tealy gray, how special can it be?" I was wrong--it's very special! Vert de Gris, along with Bleu des Profoundeurs, are exceptional recent additions to the standard line-up of J. Herbin inks. Most here are probably well-familiar with J. Herbin inks in one form or another--the brand has been around for a very long time and offers inks in all colors of the rainbow, even with shimmer. The standard line of J. Herbin inks has been known as safe and gentle to fountain pens, even vintage. Saturation tends to be lower (thus easy flushing), and the formulations are advertised to be pH-neutral, though whether all the colors are close to pH-neutral has been contested by some. In any event, I've never had any problems with J. Herbin inks from their standard non-shimmer line, and since I own a bunch of vintage pens, I tend to go for more gentle inks. But gentle does not need to be boring! In fact, this ink is anything but boring. The interesting thing about it is how beautifully rich and matte it looks in high quantity (such as with a flex nib), and its beautiful hue in person. It looks especially good on ivory paper. Water resistance is very respectable--the tealy-blue components wash off leaving highly legible dark gray line, and water does not reduce writing to a smeary mess. If I'm going to fault this ink in one thing, it's that on worse paper it's more feathering prone than some other inks. No problems with feathering on good fountain pen-friendly paper.

In the end I won't be getting the Honey, it doesn't seem to be different enough to me.

I'm new to this ink, but it was exciting enough that I decided to write a mini review for it. Sorry for my crooked writing--I've been practicing a proper grip, which makes me write in chickenscratch J. Herbin - Rouille D'Ancre is an interesting ink. It's pink? No it's coral. No it's peachy faded red? Wait, let me turn on the table lamp, it looks different again... Yes, it's difficult to categorize. I honestly thought I would be getting a cross between true rose gold and Apple kind of anodized aluminum rose gold, but it's neither. It's always legible and not pale, unless you have a super dry writer. The color makes me happy for some reason, and I want to keep writing with this ink. I personally think it looks best with a pen that gives you some line and flow variation, like a stub nib, a vintage pen, or some kind of flexy nib. In my case, I decided to use it with a great FPR Himalaya that is equipped with an ebonite feed and "ultra flex" steel nib. Drying time is really good. Unless you're leaving globs of ink left and right, it dries very quickly. 10-15 seconds. The appearance on the page is matte. If you use a wet writer, there is some dark edging / outlining effect. The ink has some greenish-cyan components and more yellow-brown components, as can be seen on the paper towel droplet spread and water brush tests. I think the outlining effect is also enhanced due to this turquoise component. No feathering observed on typical fountain-pen-friendly paper, though my newly obtained HP Premium Choice 32lb 100-brightness paper did feather with this ink and J. Herbin Vert Empire. I've tried my best to represent my ink properly, though due to the readily color-shifting property of it, that was was not an easy task. Next to PenBBS "Rose Quartz" ink: (PenBBS Rose Quartz on the top right): Scan (not accurate for Rose Quartz--the photograph above is accurate):

I love dark purple ink. Currently I have my Pilot Custom 823 inked up with Poussière de Lune but I almost run out. Im looking into Montblanc Lavender Purple now. I wonder whats the difference? Herbin Poussière de Lune is great for me. Since its dark enough but still have some shade. It is quite nice to take academic notes with. I have the following questions: 1. Is Montblanc darker or lighter? 2. How does the inkflow compare? 3. Saturation? 4. Any side by side comparison? 5. Anything else you would like to elaborate on. Thank you all!

"HERE IT IS: The Kyanite du Népal from our exclusive 1798 Anniversary Ink Collection available 06/21 [21st June] About the ink: Kyanite is bright blue and pulling toward turquoise. It is magnified thanks to a cloud of silver glitter for a powerful and elegant writing. Since the discovery of the famous mining region of Nepal, Kali Gandaki, Kyanite has been recognized as a noble mineral because of its similarities with the rich tones of sapphire." https://www.instagram.com/p/BxPo8LxDyiC/ And see here https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/bmajwk/this_years_j_herbin_1798_ink_kyanite_du_n%C3%A9pal/

When I started out on my quest for inks that look nice AND have very good water resistance properties, honestly the last ink series I thought I'd be getting were J. Herbin's standard fountain pen inks. I had a very misguided opinion of the line as being too faded looking, low saturation, dull, certainly not water resistant. That's until I accidentally found some reviews that showed water tests of J. Herbin's Lie de Thé. I also realized how interesting of an ink it is. It led me down the path of reanalyzing the whole line of inks, and I almost got a large size of Poussiere de Lune and some other colors. But back to Lie de Thé! I take back what I thought and welcome this ink with open arms to the top of my favorite inks list. The color: It's a very complex sepia color! It keeps shifting between looking more green? or is it more orange? or yellow? As a paper towel drip test below shows (green-gray-brown base, orange and yellow elements over that), this ink has all of those colors, and due to the excellent shading property, all those colors are visible to some extent. But this ink definitely keeps you guessing if you stare at it for a while, influenced also by lighting conditions. Shading: Amazing shading! Not only that, but there's some color variation between different intensity parts of writing. This ink's ability to shade comes through well in all of my pens: from dry writers with wide italic nibs to wet writers with round nibs. Sheen: none, I really tried to make it appear, but it's not there Ink flow: Pretty high flow ink in all of my pens, lubrication is medium, not as high as, say, Organics Studio Walden Pond Blue, which is highly lubricating. Bleed-through: none observed on Fabriano's Bioprima or Clairefontaine paper. A small amount with a wet nib pen on standard [low quality] printer paper Feathering: none on high quality paper, a little bit on cheap paper. Water resistance: another stand-out property of this ink! Some pale color wash off, but what remains is a highly legible and neat gray-green-brown base color. Photographs were made in diffuse natural daylight indoors on a somewhat sunny day. I don't like using my scanner to show inks, as it's not terribly accurate. I can get accurate photographs much more easily with my set-up (paper shown below is Fabriano Bioprima 85g/m2, pale cream color)

I've just photographed a bunch of Col-O-Ring cards with darker blue-green inks, while comparing them to a custom-mixed ink discussed in Inky Recipes: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/334121-masques-mix-black-swan-in-icelandic/ I thought I'd share the photographs here, in case they will be helpful for anyone. Since display calibration and general accuracy of representation varies, the main value of these is comparative between the shades. Though I did try to make the colors appear as I see them in person (at least on my devices). I think Fire& Ice should be slightly more saturated and a tad more green. Turquoise and Eau de Nil should be a bit less saturated, more matte. Diamine Asa Blue is a slightly turquoise medium blue. Birmingham Pen Co. Fountain Turquoise is a pale greenish turquoise. Lamy Petrol is similar to Noodler's Aircorp Blue Black in regular writing: both are quite green blue-blacks. ACBB has no sheen, Petrol has unique rose gold sheen. Sailor's Yama Dori was a disappointment to me: it's a dark teal-black that's got a kind of matte washed out appearance. Granted it does sheen easily, but I just didn't care for the lackluster base color. Robert Oster Fire & Ice: ranges from dark blue-teal to very vivid glowing turquoise, depending on the pen used (dry or wet). Sheen is pretty minimal unless you let the ink concentrate sitting in a pen for a few days. Diamine Eau de Nil: nice muted blue-teal, darker, not too vivid Robert Oster Tranquility: this is a green-teal Robert Oster Aqua: more green than Fire & Ice J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor: similar to Aqua in base color. Sheen and shimmer can be hit or miss, depending on paper and concentration Organics Studio Walden Pond "Blue" : definitely a misnomer, there is almost nothing blue about it. It's strongly green, though on the bluer green side. Sheens a vivid metallic magenta so easily, it can take over the whole writing. If you use a dip pen with it and low absorbent paper like Clairefontaine or greeting cards, the metallic sheen completely covers up the green-black, and the letters look like you wrote them with a metallic magenta ink.

If you need a bit of encouragement! Available at up to a 30% discount. https://www.jacquesherbin.com/en/ The only association I have with J Herbin is the Bleu Austral on my shelf.