Laban Hermes Sky Blue ink is an addition to my "didn't know they made ink too" list, but this is a list that I'm always happy to see expand. We definitely don't have a shortage of ink choices these days.
My only exposure to Laban in the past has been their fountain pens and other ballpoint/rollerball writing instruments. They're a luxury brand on the more affordable side that offer a lot of unique and attractive designs. Until recently, I thought that's all they did. But it turns out they also make their own ink.
Hermes is just one ink out of the Greek Mythology collection, all of which are bold and striking colors. Hermes is a bright sky blue that really pops off the page. It's just dark enough to be easy to read while still obviously being sky blue. Compared to other sky blues from other ink makers, it's definitely on the lighter side.
The ink shades easily from the pervasive sky blue to a lighter sky blue as it dries. It's not a large amount of shading, but it provides some character and flair to the ink. Once the ink dries, I can detect a very small amount of bright sheen in some angles. It's not enough to even name the color of the sheen, but it does add a dynamic look to the dried ink on the page.
Dry time is pretty average when comparing to other inks. Typical strokes from a medium nib are dry in around 15-20 seconds, while larger strokes from a wider nib take between 20 and 30 seconds to dry. Nothing to write home about, but decent. For left-handed writers, this won't be a great option since it doesn't dry fast enough to avoid hand smudges while writing.
The flow of this ink is a little on the dry side. It's not enough to make the nib feel dry or scratchy, but it does mean nib/feed combos that lean to the dry side might struggle to supple enough ink. It does fine in the nibs I've tried, but I can definitely tell that the ink feeds slower than most inks. Not a good choice for a nib that you know is already a little scratchy, but it feels fine in a well-tuned nib.
One thing I noticed pretty quickly is that this ink can behave a little erratically on different types of papers. It does well when writing on coated papers (like Rhodia), but can be splotchy or invisible in some areas on uncoated paper. There's a good example of this on the swatch card in the photos. There are a couple of spots on the card that look much lighter than the rest. This is likely due to some sort of small imperfection in the paper stock that the ink refused to soak into for some reason. I've noticed it on other papers that aren't coated, so it must be something in the ink formula that makes it less resilient on different paper types. Not a dealbreaker, but an oddity that needs to be pointed out.
At $25 for a 50ml bottle, Hermes Sky Blue is priced a bit higher than other inks of the same size. Not to single anyone out, but for comparison's sake, a 50ml bottle of Robert Oster ink is $18, and that's an ink brand that almost always delivers flawless performance. I'd rate the behavior of Hermes Sky Blue behind the Robert Oster inks I've used, so that's worth considering given the price. I'd be happier and more willing to recommend it if it were closer to the $15-20 mark. Since I've only tried one ink from Laban, I can't say yet if their other inks are on par with this performance, but I certainly hope they behave a little better than Hermes Sky Blue. I'm definitely keeping my eye on them and looking forward to trying other inks from their lineup.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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