Which 4 J Herbin Inks

[athenian]

Bleu Nuit

Cacao du Brezil

Bleu Myosotis

Violette Pensee

[inkstainedruth]

It's too bad that you said the 1670 inks weren't included, because I really like Rouge Hematite (at least the original formula) a lot. That being said, I would say +1 on Vert Empire and Eclat de Saphir; trying to still make up my mind about Lie de The.

Unlike a lot of people here, Poussiere de Lune didn't grab me. And Gris Nuage is pretty, but very light.

I have a sample of Cafe de Iles, but haven't tried it yet. Can't help you about the others -- sorry.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[calhoun tubbs]

Perle Noire

Eclat de Saphir

Vert Empire

Bleu Nuit

 

I've used the above inks, and they were all excellent, conventional inks.

[carlos.q]

Perle Noire

Violette Pensee

Lie de The

Eclat de Saphir

[flyingfox]

+1 for Poussiere de Lune. It is such a unique color, totally unlike any other, so it is a definite "must."

 

Others- depends on your preference. I personally like:

 

Violette Pensee

Rose Cyclamen

Bleu Myosotis

[lapis]

Great question (honestly). I'd say " all of the above". But to be sure, do include the 5 scented inks plus the 2 1670s. See, you never have enough.

[Inkwellpens]

Gosh, some great recommendations. I will have to see which ones have come up most. 1670 definitely look worth it in addition to the 4.

[sandy101]

Éclat de Saphir

 

Lierre Sauvage

 

Violette pensee

 

J Herbin inks are lovely, but not all pens like them. Certainly my Parker & Waterman's don't like them much, but my Italix & Jinhao loves them.

[keo]

You asked for four favorites, so here they are (similar to many others):

 

Perle Noire

Vert Empire

Poussiere de Lune

Eclat de Saphir

 

However, may I respectfully submit that you are taking the wrong approach to the question. J. Herbin has 30 standard (non-scented, non-1670) colors. Eight 4-color sample packs is 32, which means your question really should be "Which 2 colors should I get doubles of?"

 

 

Hi all,

I've never used J Herbin inks before but wanted to try them out but didn't know where to start.
Having looked on an online store I noticed that you can order any 4 10ml sample bottles and they will come in a clear tube packaging.
so I figured this would be a good way to start, only question now is......
Which 4 should I get?

What are your favourites? Suggestions would be very welcomed.

[Inkwellpens]

You asked for four favorites, so here they are (similar to many others):

 

Perle Noire

Vert Empire

Poussiere de Lune

Eclat de Saphir

 

However, may I respectfully submit that you are taking the wrong approach to the question. J. Herbin has 30 standard (non-scented, non-1670) colors. Eight 4-color sample packs is 32, which means your question really should be "Which 2 colors should I get doubles of?"

 

 

I see your point. Are these inks generally well behaved?

[PJohnP]

Sourcing the reds and oranges, a couple of inks from J. Herbin that've not been mentioned are Rouge Opéra and Orange Indien, both super inks that are well behaved and lovely colours.

 

With respect to the browns, I'll also echo the comments on Café des Îles, which is a subtle but quite warm colour.

 

J. Herbin inks are "sleepers" in that they perform beautifully, shade with éclat and élan, are priced somewhat reasonably, but even as it's a long standing brand of some three centuries, the inks rarely gather the laurels of some other brands. That's a shame, because a careful choice of a few J. Herbin inks can form the backbone of a very good quite fine set of inks for the fountain pen user.

 

 

 

John P.

[ravantra]

Bilberry

Poussiere de Lune

Perle Noire

Ancient Copper

[Abner C. Kemp]

Rouge Hematite (this is a must try.. the gold sheen is awesome)

Eclait De Sapphire

Lie De The

Bleu Nuit

[Florida Blue]

My four favorite J. Herbin inks are:

Bleu Nuit

Orange Indien

Lie de The

Rouge Opera

 

Honorable mention:

Rouge Hematite 1670 Anniversary Ink

 

J. Herbin inks were an early favorite of mine when I first branched out from Waterman's and Quink, because of the variety and price. I bought my first bottle from the fabled Art Brown in Manhattan, which was one of a handful of B&M shops that had J. Herbin for sale and they stocked all 30 colors.

[keo]

I see your point. Are these inks generally well behaved?

 

I've only tried 6 of the J. Herbin inks, but for me, my pens, and my paper, "Yes."

 

When I try a new ink, I write a page in each of two testing notebooks: a Rhodia (my "good" notebook) and an old Mead (my "bad" notebook). I've had roughly similar results with all 6 inks: on the good paper they perform beautifully and dry reasonably quickly, and on the bad paper they dry quickly with no bleed-through and little, if any, feathering.

 

I've tried at least 6 colors each of Diamine, Noodler's, and Private Reserve, and my opinion is that J. Herbin is the most consistent of the bunch.

[Anne-Sophie]

Would you like more fun or more classic inks?

 

The 100 ml bottle is available in six colors. Perle Noire /09; Eclat de Saphir /16; Bleu Nuit /19; Lie de The /44; Poussiere de Lune /48; Violette Pensee /77.

 

Perle des Encres, Eclat de Sapphire, Poussiere de Lune, Lierre Sauvage, Violette Pensee, Bleu Nuit, Gris Nuage and the majority of the warm tones inks were designed to match the traditional sets of GLalo stationery.

 

There is a list of colors here http://www.glalo.com/paper_chart.php

 

You can see what the stationery looks like here http://www.glalo.com/most_popular_products.php

 

 

Vert Empire and Larmes de Cassis are recent Herbin addition and match the traditional and more contemporary sets of G Lalo stationery.

 

http://exaclairretailers.com/page/pdfcatalog?tp=exc&q=44

 

 

All the reds, pinks, lighter greens, orange and yellow were/are considered appropriate for children and informal correspondence.

 

Bouquet d'Antan, a favorite of mine; Bouton d'or and, I assume, Diabolo Menthe and Rouille d'Ancre are very light.

Better used on dark paper or for mixing.

 

 

Your choice of the 4 samples depend of the family of colors you like the most and what you plan to use the ink for.

 

I also think that you check the "pay it forward" subforum and see who bought a particular color and really doesn't like it. You could get it for free.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Anne-Sophie

[VivienR]

Wow, its a hard question, I have 9 of them, all of them behave wonderfully.

If I need to pick only 4:

Rose Cyclamen,

Pussiére de Lune

Bleu Pervenche

Larmes de Cassis

 

But, its only my preferences, but honest, I think you can choose any as you want, they all behaving well, maybe they not the best in shading, but they always perform well.

[GeekyGirl]

Bleu Myosotis

Poussiere de Lune

Vert Empire

[graphlology]

Bleu Pervenche
Cacao Du Brezil

Poussiere de Lune

 

for me.

 

I can't count.

[theolu]

If you're at all interested in black inks Perle Noire is a must. It's a benchmark black ink and, in my view, one of the three most commonly referenced black inks (along with Noodlers and Aurora).

 

After that it's all about what colors you like. J. Herbin inks generally all behave well. I personally like Bleu Nuit, Poussiere De Lune, and Eclat De Sapphire.