thINKthursday
J. Herbin Corail des Tropiques

Let your pen drift across the page with J. Herbin Corail des Tropiques.

thINKthursday – J Herbin Corail des Tropiques

Herbin (formerly known as J. Herbin) has released 5 new colors and Corail des Tropiques is a standout. The ink is a rouge coral color that is really unique when it comes to fountain pen ink. Herbin inks come in a 30ml square glass bottle that has a little indentation on the top that is meant to serve as a pen rest. The opening of the bottle is on the narrower side so filling can be cumbersome with wider pens. This review was done with a Pilot Metropolitan F, Faber-Castell Essentio B and on Rhodia blank No. 18 paper.

Corail des Tropiques falls somewhere in the peach, pink, red, coral, salmon and rouge color range – that is to say it’s a pretty unique color. It has a uniform appearance between a fine and broad nib, and doesn’t display much shading. The lightest areas of the ink are a blush pink. From there, the ink shades into a peachy salmon color. The ink has coral in its name and that accurately describes the overall color.

Herbin inks generally have good properties. Many of their inks write on the drier side, but I found Corail des Tropiques had good flow. There was no feathering or bleedthrough on Rhodia paper, and the ink has low saturation. Dry times were good at 15-25 seconds. The ink had no water resistance, but clean up was easy.

Corail des Tropiques is such a soft and delicate-looking ink that I was initially concerned about legibility, but it was not an issue even in a fine nib. I’m not usually one for this kind of ink, but it is such a unique color that I’ve been drawn to it. While this ink color may not be appropriate for all workplaces, it would make a great ink for all your other writing needs.

As with any ink review, the pen, paper and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the color for you.

Ink it Up!
Chris

New to thINKthursday?  No problem – I explain the formatting of my reviews here.