J. Herbin Perle Noire Ink Review

J. Herbin Perle Noire translates to black pearl and the ink colour reflects its name as it is a saturated and dark black. The ink also behaves fairly well and is on the wet side, making it a black ink that I quite enjoy using in my fountain pens. 

I’m trying out a new style of ink review that’s shorter and more concise. My previous ink reviews were quite long and more in depth but they took up a lot of time. Hopefully with this shorter style I’ll be able to review more inks in a shorter time span. Let me know in the comments if you like this review format or prefer the old one.

I’ve got the ink in the 100ml version, but the ink also comes in a 30ml bottle. Obviously the 100ml will be more value for money and I’m glad I picked up the larger bottle since I quite like this ink. The 100ml bottle is a plastic one and is nothing special. I definitely prefer it over the 30ml bottle though. That one is a pain to fill from.

Colour

As you can see this ink is a nice dark black that is saturated and doesn’t have any shading, which is what I prefer. It is on the wet side with might contribute to the saturation. Even in finer nibs, the ink looks very black. Also this is a straight black which doesn’t have a strange undertone, which you will see later in the comparisons.

Ink Behaviour

This ink is a well behaved one. I haven’t encountered any issues in any of my pens so far. This ink flows well and is quite smooth (not quite Iroshizuku tho). On cheap paper there is some slight feathering and no bleed-through, which considering it is a wet ink is pretty good. With broader and wet nibs, there is some bleed-through and feathering on cheap paper. There is no bleed-through or feathering on good paper at all. There is some slight ghosting on Rhodia but you should still be able to write on both sides of the page comfortably. Dry times are just average (maybe on the longer side with a wetter pen) and it passes the spill test. This ink is not waterproof but you should be able to read your writing after a spill.

Comparisons

It was a cloudy day so the pictures don’t pick up the undertones very well, but you should be able to see that Perle Noire is just a straight black. It doesn’t have the red-purple undertones that Monterverde black has and lacks the sheen that Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi has. It is most similar to Take-Sumi and Lamy Black but it’s darker. Lamy black is actually quite similar but I like Perle Noire better.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a nice dark black and don’t need it to be waterproof, I would recommend you check J Herbin Perle Noire out. I find myself reaching for this black ink more than I thought I would. Overall, this is an ink I enjoy using and I give it a thumbs up.

TL;DR: If you are looking for a wet black ink, this is a great one to try.