J. Herbin Rouge Opera Review

Unknown 4:22 PM Ink Reviews , J. Herbin Edit

Specifications

Manufacturer: J. Herbin

Alternate Name(s): Opera Red

Color: Pink

MSRP: $5

Actual Price: $4-$5

Price I paid: 3 Euros

Amount of Ink: 10mL

Cost per ml: 50¢

Bottle: Small glass bottle; difficult to fill from

Where to Buy: JetPens and Bureau Direct in the 10mL bottle; Anderson Pens, Bureau Direct, Jet Pens, Goulet Pens, and Cult Pens in the 30mL bottle; Bureau Direct also sells it in a heart-shaped bottle.

At a Glance

Sheen: None

Shading: Good

Water Resistance: None

Feathering: Average

Bleed through: Average

Show through/ Ghosting: Minimal

Drying Time: Long (Up to 45s on Rhodia)

Wetness: High

Lubrication: Well-lubricated

Staining: None

Saturation: Low

Cleaning: Easily flushed from a pen due to its low saturation

Okay on Copier Paper?: No

Thoughts

J. Herbin Rouge Opera is a pink with low saturation and some shading. It behaves fairly well, but I have one main grievance which prevents me from using it: in most pens it's an inconsistent, extremely light pink which I strongly dislike. Another issue with this ink is its water resistance, or lack thereof. As you can see in the water resistance tests, it dissolves completely within a few minutes. Yet another grumble I have with it is that its drying times are exceptionally long- up to 45 seconds on Rhodia. For these reasons, I cannot recommend Rouge Opera, but I do recommend several other pink inks such as Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline, Diamine Cerise, Diamine Claret, and Noodler's Tchaikovsky.

Writing Samples

Main Pen- Pilot Vanishing Point Medium
Pen 2- Visconti Rembandt Fine
Pen 3- Sailor 1911S Extra-Fine
Links lead to reviews of each pen.