J. Herbin Fountain Pen Ink - 30 ml Bottled - Perle Noire, 1.01 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)

After trying out quite a few water based black inks, including many of the popular options out there by Pilot, Pelikan, Waterman, Parker, Diamine, Kaweco, Thorntons, and Lamy, I think J. Herbin Perle Noire takes the crown for my favorite dark black water-based ink.When compared to the other options, its the best balance of price, dry time, feathering, paper-penetration, flow, and smoothness for the how dark black the ink is. The only three other options that I would consider better with the black level of the ink (that ive tried), and they all have some downside that make it less desirable than the Perle Noire. Noodlers X-Feather is a slightly darker black to me, but its permanent ink, and it also has a very long dry time comparatively. Noodlers Heart of Darkness is one of the darkest blacks I have ever used, however, its a permanent ink, so no go. The only other non-permanent non-pigmented black that is darker black than this, is Diamine and their Jet Black. Unfortunately, my experience with Diamine Onyx Black is that the dry time is noticeably longer, which its long enough to be a potential problem, for me at least.I basically need a water-based black, since I dont trust myself enough to not accidentally make an impossible to clean mess with permanent ink, so I will be keeping away from pigmented and other semi-permanent to permanent inks. Its awkward to explain black blotches that cannot be easily removed on your desk at work.Perle Noire is a nice dark black, where its dark enough that shading is very minimal if there is any at all. Its also a matte black look, with no shininess, which some inks have. There is minimal feathering, and the flow is nice and consistent, with the nib feeling quite smooth (not the smoothest ink ive used, but still excellent). The ink penetration of the paper is also moderately low, so its less likely to bleed all the way through your page. The only thing that I wish was improved, is the dry time. Its acceptable, but it is long compared to the more pedestrian inks like Pilot Namiki Black and Lamy Black. I think its more than fine for a right hander, but it might be a little long for a left hander, which may lead to smearing if you write quickly. The other thing I wished for, is a better bottle, the 30ml bottle is cute, but its annoying to use to refill your pens, there are other, far better designed "standard size" bottles that both look nice, and are convenient for filling your pen, Pilot Namiki, Lamy, and Pilot Iroshizuku come to mind. I just use a syringe and my ink miser well to fill up my pens.I do need to note, I havent had a chance to try out some other common options for water-based black ink. Some of the inks I have yet to try, but are on my list to try, include: Pilot Iroshizuku Takesumi, Mont Blanc Mystery Black, Monteverde Midnight Black, Pelikan Edelstein Onyx, Lamy Crystal Ink Obsidian, TWSBI Black, and Aurora Nero.

It writes really well in an antique bladder pen. Great color, smooth flow. Not the most waterproof but I don’t need it to be. Will buy more when I run out.

I needed a good, deep black ink for a very nice gray Visconti fountain pen that I received. This ink (Perle Noire) has some very good reviews on many pen and ink websites so I ordered it. I've only used it in the one pen so far, but I'm very pleased with it. This pen is not a particularly wet writer, and this ink writes a black (as opposed to gray) line from it. J. Herbin inks have a reputation for being safe inks for even vintage fountain pens and they have good flow in my experience. The bottle isn't very deep, so after it's about half-used you may have to put some of the ink into a little sample vial (or transfer the ink to a narrower, deeper bottle) to fill a pen, but that's easy to do with a clean drinking straw (put your fingertip over the top of the straw to transfer the ink). Like most fountain pen inks, this ink isn't meant to be waterproof, but that helps with pen cleaning. (There are some permanent black inks available such as Noodler's.) I like this ink a lot.

I’m no expect in ink but like the deep black color and kinda no bleeding into normal paper.

Best compromise between Platinum Carbon Black (black as the void between the stars, waterproof) and Levenger Raven (rich black, no water resistance). I wish it were as rich as Raven which seems to have a tinge of indigo, but it's a saturated enough grey-based black. It's legible after getting wet, leaving behind a dark grey line after the black has bled out to the edges of the water. I chose this over PCB because I don't write frequently so I need something that will stay wet in the pen for a little while or is easy to clean if it dries in the pen. JH Perle Noire doesn't start hard when I stop writing, I get a lot of mileage per fill, and it doesn't feather too much even on cheap paper.

I have a Stipula Passaporto foutain pen. It is a small pen with a large reservoir. I have used various inks but by no means am I a connoisseur or expert in fountain pens or inks. My primary issue is that I don't do a lot of writing as I mostly type at the office. So I might go a couple weeks between when I need to take written notes or sign documents. With all other inks that I tried, my pen would be dry and I couldn't write and I would have to spend 15 minutes messing with the pen. With this ink, I would start writing and it was like I had been using it all the time. No delay, no fiddling with the pen. I won't use any other ink now. My Passaporto at home I only use about once every couple months and it still writes as if I had been using it everyday. Give it a try.

J. Herbin has been around for something like 300 years!This is a great classic and classy Black ink with charcoal undertones. It writes very well in my fountain pens.

I really, really like this ink. It writes smoothly, and dries VERY quickly (always nice for a writer who, like me, tends to be a bit careless of freshly inked pages). Be warned, though; while a lovely color, it is not quite the black of jet; it is closer to the black of charcoal. It is easily recognizable as black, but not quite the almost glossy black I prefer.One more thing: while a great product, it is expensive. If you can afford it, it's great. I bought this with a gift card as an indulgence (rather than a cheaper ink), so I'm quite satisfied with what I got, but the bottle was smaller than I envisioned. Do remember to do a price comparison with other ink first (and if you're used to dealing in fluid ounces, as I am, please remember to CONVERT UNITS). And then, if you can afford it, go for it. It'll be a lot of fun.