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Showing posts from February, 2020

Perle Noir, Herbin

Perle Noir is one of the most recommended and well reviewed black inks out there. When I bought this ink a few years ago, I was disappointed. It is not the blackest, not the smoothest, not the fastest drying ink, not an archival ink, not the cheapest.  I decided to give it a second chance so I eyedropped a Preppy with it and filled a Lamy All-star. Over the past few days I have written many pages of work notes with the ink. Perle Noir is a well behaving black ink that is sold at a reasonable price, but it doesn't excel in anything. Below some writing samples, followed by drying times and test in water resistance. Drying times are about average to slow, 45 secs with a broad nib on Tomoe River 52g paper. The ink is certainly not water resistant, but it can handle an accidental drop.   The full characteristics: Feathering none Shading hardly any Show through negligible 
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Pain d'Épices, LaCouronneDuComte

Recently, the Dutch webshop LaCouronneDuComte launched a new series of ink under their own name. The ink is being produced by Diamine and has similar bottles and pricing.  The webshop claims that the colors are exclusive for them. Pain d'Épices is a warm red, or as the website describes it, "Pain d'Épices is a warm, red-brown ink with an olive-green sheen that evokes the feeling of a delicious gingerbread." I wouldn't touch a gingerbread in this color with a ten foot pole, but it is a warm red and when using very wide or poster nibs, the green sheen is clearly visible. Much better for personal use than for office use, but it is elegant and dark enough.  Quality of the ink is as expected. No feathering, beautiful shading, hardly any show-through, normal wetness, good lubrication and average drying times. As afraid of water as the next Diamine ink. So how does the color compare to other inks? As can be seen in the Ink Comparisons, it will be extremely hard t
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Bilberry, by Diamine

Bilberry by Diamine is in the twilight zone between blue and purple. Far more dark than the European blueberry it’s named after. Billberry is a very nice dark ink. I’d call it a dark purple leaning towards blue, but it’s really a matter of perception. In any case it’s an elegant ink that works both for personal correspondence as well as note taking in the office. At first glance many will consider it a blue.  Like most if not all Diamine inks, this ink is very well behaved. No feathering, some shading, and minimal show-through. The ink is less wet than most, writes smoothly and has a drying time that's below average for Diamine (Clairefontaine paper). The ink is very afraid of water, even a little drop or some wetness will smear it and ruin your writing. Even days after writing.  Diamine’s Lilac Night was my first thought for a comparison, but it’s much lighter and more blue. Noodler’s Tchaikovsky (a not very vibrant purple) and iroshizuku’s Murasaki don’t come close
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Black Swan in Australian roses, Noodler's ink

Black Swan in Australian roses. What to expect from an ink with that name? It's definitely not black, nor does the color remind me of roses. I'd say it's a light purple color, leaning towards red. One explanation I've read for the name was the high degree of (almost black) shading. In any case, it's a nice, subtle color. It's definitely more a color for personal use than for use in the workspace, but you will still get away with taking notes in this color. No one would take offense or even frown.  The ink is well behaved. Noodler's is a no-frills ink brand. It does what it has to do. Atypical for Noodler's are the high shading and the long drying times. Very different from the inks of this brand I used before: Tchaikovsky, Heart of Darkness, Esenin, and Kingfisher. It wasn't easy to find a color that comes close. It reminded me most of Diamine's Syrah (much darker) and a little bit of Iroshizuku's Bishamonten and Montblanc's Lavend
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