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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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Scribble Purple, Diamine


A very dark purple with a high amount of green sheen. I had never seen this color until I accidentally ran into it at a small pen and ink shop. Especially with finer nibs the purple is near black. That makes the color suitable for the workspace and of course, for any personal writing. 

The ink is very well behaved. I have used it in various pens with different nib sizes. The green sheen is visible in all nibs used. Especially on Tomoe River paper, but also on Rhodia or Clairefontaine. In the image below you can clearly see it in the title with a broad poster nib. Despite the very dark color you can still see shading. Show-through is minimal. There is no feather on decent paper. Lubrication is good and even though the ink doesn't seem that wet, its drying time is high, more than one minute! 

Compared to some other purple inks, Scribble Purple is by far the darkest. Diamine's Bilberry is dark too, but leans far more to a blue. Damson is a much less saturated color. So is Noodler's Tchaikovsky which is also pretty light. 

Scribble Purple is a great addition to my ink collection. It's a wonderful ink for dark, long winter nights. 
(Review written on Tomoe River paper)

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