J. Herbin 1670, Edition Anniversaire

For an American it may be hard to imagine a company that opened its doors more than a hundred years before our Declaration of Independence was signed. That’s a long time to invest in perfecting a product and for that effort, J. Herbin has some of the best ink on the market.

To celebrate its 340th anniversary, J. Herbin has released a new ink in a new bottle with new packaging.  The name of the ink is 1670 for the year the company was founded but the color is called Rouge Hematite. If you like red ink, this one is for you.

J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite with Rhodia Grid Notebook

Initial observations…

• Love the packaging and taller bottle. The wax seal is a good representation of the ink’s color.

• Color is an earthy red that leans orange-red depending on lighting conditions as well as nib width and flow. I like the chameleon aspect.

• Richest color achieved with wettest nibs especially those with flex.

• The color is very saturated compared to most inks in the line. This one is neither shy nor pale. Bottle may need a shake or swirl before filling a pen to get best results.

• Excellent coverage and flow. No feathering. All nibs tested performed beautifully.

• 1670 is thicker than other Herbin fountain pens inks as well as slower to dry. On Rhodia it took more than 10 seconds with a Lamy EF.

• No bleed-through or show-through on Rhodia or Apica 6A10. Faintly visible through the back of Triomphe stationery.

J. Herbin 1670 - Rouge Hematite

Does 1670 represent a new direction for J. Herbin? Maybe so. The larger 50 ml bottle will please some folks while others will be happy that the additional height makes it easier to fill large nibs. So much to the good.

J. Herbin 1670 - The bar shows the range of reds in the written sample.

Color and performance are what make this new ink work for me. From a flexible nib, 1670 has a beautiful, rich color that invites lots of swirls and loops and other interesting shapes. With an extra-fine nib, 1670 offers smooth performance and excellent coverage. Saturated inks may not be my preference but J. Herbin 1670 looks like a good fit for my collection regardless.

J. Herbin 1670 Ink Swatch

Note that in the swatch, “fundamental” was written with a Lamy AL-Star EF while the other writing was done with an Esterbrook 9128 extra-fine flexible nib. The Lamy produced a lighter red that has less of the orange seen in the more saturated samples.

At least on my monitor, the scanned images make the ink look less orange than it should be. I hope it’s just happening for me and not you. 1670 really is an earthy red rather than a true red which is part of what distinguishes it from most other inks on the market.

More at Biffybeans and Pen and Co and Rhodia Drive and Okami-Whatever and lady dandelion and Drawing with a Squirrel and my ink comparison to R&K Morinda.