Ink Review: Jacques Herbin Essentials Inks

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This week we are going to focus on J Herbin (Jacques Herbin) inks. I’ve had these reviews done for quite a while, I just haven’t gotten around to publishing them. We are going to start out with three Jacques Herbin Essentials inks: Rouge d’Orient, Violet Boreal and Vert Amazone. You can purchase these inks at most retailers. My samples came from Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Rouge d’Orient, Violet Boreal and Vert Amazone

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry Time: 50 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: The three had low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was quite a bit of feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Rouge d’Orient is similar to a lot of other red inks.

Violet Boreal is closest to Robert Oster Velvet Crush.

Vert Amazone is a little darker than Backpack Dublin Green.

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All three inks had average flows.

Overall, I love how well these inks flow. The Essentials inks are my favorites from J Herbin. You can’t go wrong with any of these three inks but Vert Amazone is my favorite out of the three.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #2742: Teranishi Guitar Modern Red

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Today’s ink is Teranishi Modern Red from the Guitar Series. You can find this ink for sale at some retailers including Vanness Pens. Thanks to the reader who sent this ink in for review!

The color:

Modern Red is an unsaturated medium red.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of shading.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm, as well as on cheap copy paper.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Modern Red is less saturated than J Herbin Rouge Great. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Sailor Pro Gear Slim Supernova Red with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I love this color! This may actually be one of my new favorite red inks. Not only is it a great color but it’s well behaved and has some nice shading.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by a reader for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2741: Wearingeul A Study in Scarlet

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Today’s ink is Wearingeul A Study In Scarlet from the World Literature Series. You can find this ink for sale at some retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

A Study in Scarlet is a deep red.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of shading.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm, as well as on cheap copy paper.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 50 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: There’s some bleeding in the flex nib and swab on Rhodia, but I think that’s due to a flaw in the paper rather than the ink. I’ve had this happen with most inks on this most recent batch of paper.

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

A Study in Scarlet is closest to Diamine Noel. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pelikan M205 Star Ruby with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I feel like this ink never fully dries. On the dry time test it took 50 seconds, but in the longer writing sample it seemed to take a lot longer, and it never fully dried in the large swabs on Tomoe River paper. I’m not a fan of inks that take forever to dry, so this ink in a no for me.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2681: Diamine Winterberry

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It’s Day 17 of the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Calendar! You can still find the Inkvent Calendar for sale at Cult Pens, along with many others. Thanks to Diamine for sending the Inkvent Calendar over for review!

The color:

Winterberry is a medium red.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper you can see some of the red and gold shimmer. This ink is advertised as a Chameleon ink.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and red and gold shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Winterberry is closest to Van Dieman’s Red Lightning. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Kaweco Sport Elite Royalty with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I enjoyed this ink. It’s well behaved, is a nice color and has some fun shimmer.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Diamine for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2679: Diamine Sleigh Ride

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It’s Day 15 of the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Calendar! You can still find the Inkvent Calendar for sale at Cult Pens, along with many others. Thanks to Diamine for sending the Inkvent Calendar over for review!

The color:

Sleigh Ride is a medium red.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper you can see a ton of green sheen. This ink is advertised as extreme sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 60 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: no shading, monster green sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Sleigh Ride’s base color is closest to Sailor Ink Studio 830. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Kaweco Al-sport Ruby with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I’m not super impressed with this one. Other than a long dry time it’s pretty well behaved, but I’m not a big fan of the color/sheen combo.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Diamine for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2675: Diamine Grotto

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It’s Day 11 of the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Calendar! You can still find the Inkvent Calendar for sale at Cult Pens, along with many others. Thanks to Diamine for sending the Inkvent Calendar over for review!

The color:

Grotto is a medium red with a whole lot of sheen.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper you can see a the green sheen better. This ink is advertised as extreme sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: no shading, high green sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Grotto is right in-between Cross Red and Lamy Red. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pilot Vanishing Point Crimson Sunrise with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, this ink has high sheen-it’s just short of being a monster sheener. I appreciate that it doesn’t smear after drying.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Diamine for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2670: Diamine Cranberry

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It’s Day 6 of the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Calendar! You can still find the Inkvent Calendar for sale at Cult Pens, along with many others. Thanks to Diamine for sending the Inkvent Calendar over for review!

The color:

Cranberry is a magenta-ish red with lots of green sheen.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper you can see the green sheen better.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: no shading, high green sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Cranberry’s base color is right in-between Ferris Wheel Press Royal Rhubarb and Diamine Amaranth. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Platinum 3776 Bourgogne, with a coarse nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, there’s a little too much bleeding and feathering for me, but I like the color.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Diamine for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2668: Diamine Forest Gateau

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It’s Day 4 of the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Calendar! You can still find the Inkvent Calendar for sale at Cult Pens, along with many others. Thanks to Diamine for sending the Inkvent Calendar over for review!

The color:

Forest Gateau is a deep red-violet. This ink is scented.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks a little more violet than red.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Forest Gateau is closest to Montblanc Antoine de Saint-Euxpery. Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pilot Ishime Magenta, with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I love the base color of this ink, but it’s scented which naturally means that there’s some feathering and bleeding. I’m not a fan of scented inks just because they normally don’t perform well, so this is not an ink for me.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Diamine for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2662: KWZ Firecracker

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KWZ Firecracker is from the “All That Glitters” collection. You can find this ink at some retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Firecracker is a bright medium red with lots of gold shimmer.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper you can see just how much gold shimmer there is, but the shimmer is smaller than other brands, so it flows much better than the average shimmer ink.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: no shading, no sheen, and gold shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and some bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Firecracker is closest to De Atramentis Camelian Red Bronze . Click here to see the red inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pilot VP Coral with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I really love this ink. I love the smaller shimmer that flows really well. I love that I don’t have to agitate the pen as much as when using other brands’ shimmer inks because the shimmer stays in suspension better. Robert Oster Red Gold has been my favorite red ink with gold shimmer, but Firecracker gives Red Gold a run for its money. I think this just might be my new favorite red/gold combo! This ink is absolutely worth a try!

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

J Herbin Red and Purple Inks

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Let’s take a look at five J Herbin inks today. You can finds these inks for sale at a lot of retailers, including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Rouge Caroubier, Rouge Bourgogne, Poussiere de Lune, Larmes de Cassis, and Violette Pensee.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry Time: 20-40 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five have low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Rouge Caroubier is a little more pink than Robert Oster Santa’s Hangover.

Rouge Bourgogne is more pink than these other red inks.

Poussiere de Lune is closest to Diamine Harmony.

Larmes de Cassis is deeper than these other purple inks.

Violette Pensée is close to Thorton’s Purple.

Longer Writing:

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All five had average flows.

Overall, I really like these inks. They are classics in the fountain pen community, and for good reason. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.