Some inks are functional. Others say something about who you are.
Orange Soliel from Jacques Herbin's Les Encres Essentielles collection is a bright, luminous colour that evokes the last light of a sunset - warm and present on the page without demanding attention. It is the kind of shade that makes a handwritten note feel considered, and a journal entry worth keeping.
Jacques Herbin was founded in Paris in 1670, making it the oldest ink manufacturer in the world. Over 350 years of craft inform every colour in the Essentielles range. These are not novelty inks. They are the result of a house that has had centuries to get it right.
The Colour
Orange Soliel is a radiant, energetic shade accented by beautiful saffron-toned warmth, making it well-suited to creative writing, journaling, and artistic accents. It is a bright, true orange with low shading, meaning the colour reads consistently across strokes rather than pooling or fading dramatically. It is expressive without being difficult to read, which is a harder balance to strike than it sounds.
The Formulation
The ink is water-based, non-toxic, and pH neutral, made in France using all-natural dyes. It is also vegan, and its dye-based formulation is finely filtered to ensure it will not clog your fountain pen. It dries in approximately 20 seconds through a medium nib on Rhodia paper and has an average, reliable flow. This is an ink that will not fight your pen.
The Cartridges
Each box contains seven cartridges, each holding 1.35ml of ink, with a cartridge length of 72 mm. These are standard international size cartridges, compatible with most fountain pens, including those from Jacques Herbin, Kaweco, Esterbrook, and Ferris Wheel Press, among others.
If you are unsure whether your pen takes standard international cartridges, it is worth checking your pen's documentation, as some brands including Lamy, Parker, Pilot, and Sailor use proprietary cartridge formats.
In Use
Orange Soliel performs well across a range of paper types, though like most dye-based inks it will show more vibrancy on smoother papers such as Rhodia, Clairefontaine, or Tomoe River. It is well suited to correspondence, annotations, sketching, and any writing where you want colour to do a little work. The warmth of the shade pairs naturally with cream or white paper and reads clearly enough for practical use, not just decorative.
A Note on the Collection
The Essentielles range is available in ten colours, all formulated for everyday use. If you find a colour you love, the same shade is also available in a 50 ml bottle, which is ideal for pens with piston or converter filling systems.
At a Glance
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