Review by Laura Cameron
I don’t have too many oranges in my ink collection, so I’m always pleased to test orange inks. Recently I received a bottle of J. Herbin Orange Indien (Pen Chalet, 10ml for $6.00).
Orange Indien is a nice deep orange, the color of pumpkins and fall.
It shades, but does not shimmer. In heavy applications it just remains a deep orange, perhaps leaning a bit towards brown. As you can see from where I goofed (added water and then closed the book), it is not water resistant.
The color reminds me of Indian Summer and the last long autumn days with orange sunsets.
I find this ink to be a bit on the drier side – it goes down smoothly and dries quickly and doesn’t seem as lubricating as some of the other inks I have tested.
In comparison to the other oranges in my swatch collection, I think Orange Indien stands out. It isn’t nearly as dark or intense as Monteverde Mandarin Orange, nor is it as bright as Mont Blanc Lucky Orange or Sailor Apricot. It’s just a slightly dusty orange, perfectly reminiscent of fall.
- Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80).
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
- Ink: J. Herbin Orange Indien (10ml for $6.00))
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Pen Chalet for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
You can never have too many oranges come Fall. I tend to always have at least one pen inked with an orange year round as well. Certainly one of my favorite colors!
Oh, that’s a lovely orange. I’ve always found the J. Herbin inks to be somewhat dry, although better in a bold/stub nib. Enjoy!
I use F or EF nibs and I think this ink is too dry. However, my ink seems to be very light and hardly readable. May be it’s due to the nib thickness, but I cannot find any real use for it.
Lighter, brighter inks with EF or F nibs can become too light to be usable. You may want to try a slightly darker color. In your finer nibs, it will look lighter.