J. Herbin 1670 vs Rohrer & Klingner Morinda

Lady Dandelion posted a comment to my review of Rohrer & Klingner Morinda in which she asked for a comparison of J. Herbin 1670 to Morinda. It’s a fair question and worthy of its own post.

Morinda is similar to J. Herbin 1670 though less saturated and free-flowing. For general use in a fine or extra-fine nib, both are great but there isn’t enough difference in color for me to need both. (Again, I am not a red ink person so one bottle of red ink would last me for ages.) I don’t have the proper pen to see how they differ when used with a wet, broad nib but suspect 1670 would write a darker line.

1670 is a bit darker and shades better. Morinda looks slightly more red with more even coverage. It does dry somewhat faster than 1670 but that’s always a trade off with saturation. There is a difference visible in side to side samples but when I look back at pages in my Apica 6A10 journal, there is too little difference to tell them apart except on very close inspection.

For use with a flexible nib, 1670 flows extremely well and reveals a lively, intense color that makes it an excellent choice for that purpose providing drying time isn’t an issue for you. From a wide italic nib, Morinda makes beautiful, evenly colored letters depending on the paper. More absorbent paper produces the most even color distribution. I haven’t switched them about to see if they perform similarly in those pens because it is just too much fun using them as is.

Rohrer & Klingner Morinda and J. Herbin 1670

This comparison swatch was difficult to color match so don’t rely on this one for any sort of color accuracy. However, the scan does show the relative similarity between 1670 and Morinda. My ink reviews have somewhat better representations of the colors though none are truly accurate in my opinion. Still look to them if you are interested in purchasing either ink.

Rohrer & Klingner Morinda Ink Review

J. Herbin 1670 Ink Review

Drawing with a Squirrel