I used the ink on three different papers: Clairefontain, Rhodia, and Piccadilly.  I used the same pens as I did with the Orange Indien review except for the Parker 51.

Click the images for a supersized scan. Warning, they’re large (~6MB).

As with every ink I’ve used on my Clairefontaine paper, this ink performed exceptionally well.  I noticed it doesn’t feel watered down and provides a very smooth writing experience, even with the italic nib in my Faber Castell Ambition.  The only thing to watch out for if using this ink on this paper is the drying time.  If you’re a lefty it’ll be problematic and you should try it on Rhodia paper.  If you’re a righty I don’t think you’ll have to worry about it.

The differences in the writing experiences between Rhodia and Clairefontaine are barely noticeable.  They’re both incredibly smooth, hold ink very well, and don’t feather or allow bleed through.  I think the drying time for the Rhodia paper is slightly quicker, I’m talking like a second or two.  But as I mentioned above, that may be a very important factor for the left handed writer.  Other than that they’re so similar I usually don’t have a preference unless I’m using an italic or cursive italic nib, but those details should be saved for a paper review.

My final test was on my Piccadilly pad.

As to be expected the ink feathered and bled through the page, just like nearly every other ink I’ve used in the Piccadilly.  Go here to see my review of the Piccadilly pad and what inks I recommend for it.  In the written portion on the Piccadilly pad I did comment on the color depth of the ink when used in pens that flow more or less than “standard” (if there is a standard flow).  After writing several sentences the color difference between the pens become harder to notice.  It’s more pronounced when you start writing after a slight pause.  I don’t consider this feature positive or negative, just that it should be noted.

The more I use J. Herbin inks the more I like them.  I really like the colors and the way the ink performs.  The Vert Empire, along with all other J. Herbin inks I’ve used, flows well in all my pens and exhibit little to no nib creep.  If you have a chance to try a sample I highly suggest you do.

I’ve only used one other J. Herbin ink before, Lierre Sauvage.  It is a beautiful green, one which I’m quite fond of and is of high quality.  I was not sure what to expect from the Orange Indien but after using for a few days in several pens I can say I’m very pleased with its performance and especially its color. The only thing I’m not happy about with this ink is that unless you clean the pen out VERY well it will take on the tint of the previous ink in your pen. I flush my pens several times, until the water comes out clear, before I put in a new ink and Orange Indien still changed colors on me. If this happens to you I would suggest only using this ink in a brand new pen and reserving that pen just for orange and yellow inks.

One thing I need to make a comment on is the bottle.  Not that it has any influence on the review of the ink itself, but it’s just such a nifty design.  I really like the integrated pen holder but I think the execution is poor. The seem in the middle doesn’t provide a stable rest and is barely large enough to suit a Parker “51″.  The other downside is that the bottle is a little shallow.  Trying to fill my Vanishing Point nibs will start to become a problem once the ink level has dropped just from 2-3 fills.  There are ways around this problem, but none of them are very convenient.

The first writing sample I conducted was on Clairefontaine paper.

Next is a writing sample on Rhoida.

As was expected, the ink performed about the same on both papers, which is to say very well. And just for fun I decided to see how the ink performed on a Piccadilly pad, which can have a problem with feathering. Unfortunately, Orange Indien feathered too, which isn’t all that surprising as I’ve only been able to find one ink that didn’t feather on Piccadilly and I can’t remember what it was.

Click on any of the pics for very large resolution scans.

If you like using Moleskine notebooks you’ll probably really like what Piccadilly has to offer.  The Piccadilly is a hard cover notebook, has an expandable pocket in the back, a bookmark ribbon, and an elastic closure.  Throw in some rounded corners, a cheap price tag (I paid $5.99 for each of mine) and you’ve got yourself a solid notebook for less than half the price of a Moleskine.

There are some downsides to this notebook that may keep some people from buying it.  A little annoyance that is immediately noticable is the weak elasticity of the closure.  It has just enough tension to keep the book closed.  It does its job just fine, it just feels weak.  That certainly wouldn’t keep me from buying it again.  What will keep me from buying another one is the way ink feathers on this paper.  Depending on what ink you use this notebook may be unusable.

Below you’ll see an example of the Piccadilly compared to a Rhodia pad.  The Rhodia pad is the second line of writing on the bright white paper.  Some inks behave themselves better than others with Noodlers performing the best in my experience.

Below is the full list of inks I experimented with.  It is in the same format as above, the Piccadilly sample is first, then the Rhodia sample directly underneith.  Click the image for a larger resolution file that is 50% the size of the original scan.  The original scan is available for download, but please note it is about 30MB.

Piccadilly vs Rhodia, full resolution scan.

If you didn’t look at either of the scans I’ll do a quick summary of the worst feathering offenders and the most well behaved.  Taking top honors for the worst feathing ink is a toss between Walt Disney Signature Black by Monteverde and Diamine Imperial Blue.  Fighting for third place is a Levenger trio: Always Greener, Amethyst, and Skies of Blue.

I don’t think I can honestly say that there was a single ink that didn’t feather.  But, the inks with the least amount of feathering were J. Herbin Violette Pensée, Noodlers’ Tiananmen, Levenger Raven Black, and Private Reserve Dakota Red.

For the price of this notebook I’m not making any complaints, even though it probably sounds like I am.  I won’t buy another one, but I will use the two I have until they’re filled.  I just won’t get to use all the inks in my collection.  On Piccadilly’s website they state “Piccadilly Journals, Best value journals in the world”.  I don’t disagree.