{"id":4697,"date":"2019-12-16T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.penchalet.com\/blog\/?p=4697"},"modified":"2026-03-20T13:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T20:45:11","slug":"j-herbin-cafe-des-iles-fountain-pen-ink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.penchalet.com\/blog\/j-herbin-cafe-des-iles-fountain-pen-ink\/","title":{"rendered":"J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink Review & Giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles fountain pen ink is one of 30 inks in the J Herbin regular ink series. The regular series of inks is one of three series currently offered and all J Herbin inks are known to be easy to use and well-balanced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take advantage of the opportunity to get all the details on this week\u2019s featured ink, J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles ink, right here! And as an added bonus, you can even enter to win the bottle of ink used for this week\u2019s ink review!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All About the Ink Maker: J Herbin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 1670, J Herbin is the oldest ink company in the world. They currently offer three different series of fountain inks all made in France: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin Regular Ink Series<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin1670 Ink Series<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin 1798 Ink Series <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All About This Week\u2019s Chosen Ink: J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink is a very nice chocolate brown color \u2013 classic and lovely. It\u2019s not too dark, but it does show up well on paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

** Don\u2019t stop now. Keep reading for a chance to win the bottle of J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles ink used for this week\u2019s Pen Chalet Ink Review. (Or if you\u2019re still cultivating the art of patience, scroll down to the bottom where you\u2019ll find the link to enter this week\u2019s giveaway). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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J Herbin Cafe Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink Review<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During our review, we tested Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink for all the characteristics you should know about a new fountain pen ink product before adding it to your collection. Take a few seconds to run through the list of different traits, capabilities and characteristics that we discovered during our use of this J Herbin ink<\/a> below. After you check out the results, you\u2019ll be able to make an informed decision about your fountain pen ink purchase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ink Review Testing Factors (to keep things scientific):<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the interest of keeping things scientific (and for your info), we\u2019re listing the overall controls for our weekly ink reviews right here. For our review of J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles nk, we went 100% FRENCH with a French-made J Herbin spiral glass dip pen on French-made Rhodia dot pad paper. (The glass dip pen\u2019s tip is similar to a fine-medium fountain pen nib).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget \u2013 different papers and nib sizes may produce different results. Remember this when deciding whether or not to add J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles ink to your collection! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Sort of Ink Bottle Does J Herbin Use?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles is a bottled fountain pen ink <\/a>that is sold in distinctive, flat, square 30 ml. bottles. Each J. Herbin ink has a built-in pen rest on the front of the bottle. For those interested smaller quantities, J Herbin inks are also available in 10 ml. glass sample size bottles or vials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Does J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink Cost?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles comes in a 30 ml. size ink bottle and is available at an affordable price in today\u2019s market, and it\u2019s even more affordable when purchased at Pen Chalet. With the 10 ml. sample size option, Caf\u00e9 Des Iles ink is a very economical choice for the savvy, but frugal fountain pen ink buyer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Fast Does J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink Dry?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Caf\u00e9 Des Iles fountain pen ink had a dry time of approximately 15-20 seconds with medium to high saturation. Due to the longer dry time, J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles ink is typically not considered an everday ink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink Bleed Through?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During normal use of J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink, we saw no bleeding. But even more impressive is the fact that we also saw NO bleeding during the heavy saturated cotton swab test \u2013 even at the wettest points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was There Any Feathering While Using Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During normal use, we saw no feathering,\nbut we did see slight feathering during the water test.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Stand Up to Water?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While this week\u2019s ink is not a waterproof fountain pen ink, we\ndid include a water test in the review. (For the water test, we let an ink\nsample dry for about 3 minutes before running a wet cotton swab over the\nsample). The water test resulted in significant color smearing, which is to be\nexpected from an ink that is not waterproof. The water test resulted in some slight feathering, but the\nlines were still legible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Have Good Shading Traits?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have a nib that allows good ink flow variation (like the stub or italic nib), J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink has some really nice shading traits. During our review of this lovely brown shade of fountain pen ink, we noticed lighter brown to a darker color of brown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Conclusion on J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink comes from the most historic ink company in the entire world, and they offer it to us all at a very economical price. One of 30 easy to clean and use, high performance, well-balanced (and well-loved) fountain pen inks in J Herbin\u2019s regular ink series, fountain pen users considering purchasing Caf\u00e9 Des Iles ink can choose to go straight for the 30 ml. bottle or try the 10 ml. sample size vial first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope you gave you something to think about it. If we didn\u2019t, check\nback next week to see if our next ink review and giveaway features an ink that\ncalls out to you! If we did, take some time to consider the options carefully\nand we hope you find the exact fountain pen ink you\u2019re looking to discover. Happy\nwriting from France! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter to Win the J Herbin Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Fountain Pen Ink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Enter to win the actual bottle of Caf\u00e9 Des Iles Ink that Pen Chalet used in this week\u2019s ink review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a Rafflecopter giveaway<\/a>\n