Skip to main content

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 
Post a Comment

Wondrous Winterberry, Ferris Wheel Press

 



Wondrous Winterberry, part of the 2020 festive series by Canadian brand Ferris Wheel Press. It's hard to miss Ferris Wheel Press' advertisements, they even did a Kickstarter project for new colors, but I never tried them until now. The packaging is amazing indeed, it does look beautiful. 

But at the end of the day it's the ink that counts. The color is a beautiful subdued red with some brown. For the holiday season they have included gold shimmer. For personal notes and letters the color is quite good and remains pleasant to read, even for longer writings. It's not an ink to use in the office.

The ink behaves quite well, the shading is minimal and lubrication is good without being really smooth. The shimmer is subtle, but clearly visible. Drying time - on Tomoe River 52g paper - was 55 seconds which is average. Don't let water come near to your writings, it's very efficient in erasing all, even after several days. 

The ink characteristics:

Feathering None
Shading Low
Show through Negligible
Wetness Dry-Moderate
Lubrication Good
Shimmer/sheen Gold
Price/ml € 0,47

Being a not very vibrant red, Wondrous Winterberry reminded me most of Steenrood by Vermeer (Akkerman) and it does come close indeed. Rouge Grenat (Herbin) and Crimson (Diamine) are not far off either, but are more red and less brown.

All in all it is a decent ink, but nothing special. I really would like to see Ferris Wheel Press applying the same amount of love and dedication into their inks as they do into the packaging and marketing communications. Diamine for instance is a better brand at a quarter of the price.

Two stars out of a possible five (one star deducted for price).

Written on Tomoe River 52g paper

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writer's blood, Diamine

  Writer's Blood by Diamine. The latest addition and chosen by Reddit's r/fountainpen community after a long debate and many voting rounds. A dark red, heavily leaning towards brown and aubergine purple. A subtle color that works both in the office and for personal correspondence.   There is no feathering and some shading. The ink is very wet, even wetter than usual for Diamine. The ink is smooth. I was surprised to see it can handle a bit of water. At least your work will remain legible. Drying times are slow, 85 secs on Tomoe River paper. The characteristics: Feathering None Shading Some Show through Light Wetness High Lubrication Excellent Shimmer/sheen None Price/ml € 0,12 Writer's Blood reminded me most of Diamine Oxblood. In some n
Post a Comment
Read more

Around the World in 80 Days, Montblanc

  Visiting Paris last month, I couldn't resist visiting the Montblanc flagship store and pick up a bottle of ink. Around the World in 80 Days is a limited edition ink, part of the recent collection about Jules Verne's description of Phileas Fogg's adventure. Nicely packed and in the well-known beautiful bottle. The ink is someone between blue and green, increasingly green in a wetter, broader nib. As such it is suitable for both the office as well as personal notes and correspondence. Personally, I like the ink best in finer nibs. It seems more dark and blue that way.  I have tried the ink on both Tomoe River and Rhodia paper. The ink behaved flawlessly and feels a little bit on the dry side. Drying time is neither slow nor fast, 40 secs on Tomoe River.  On Rhodia paper On Tomoe River (52g) The ink doesn't handle water very well, even after a few days the ink smears easily when some water drops are applied. Careful!  The full characteristics: F
Post a Comment
Read more

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 
Post a Comment
Read more