Have you ever looked at a tube of artist’s paint and wondered what that jargon means? Or maybe you have never noticed the wealth of information written on the tubes.
There is more to painting than brand, color, and price. Most artist-grade paint tubes provide all the information you need to choose the right paint for your work.
Here are some tips on reading the label on a tube of artist paint, which will help you decide what to buy.
My post on choosing the right paint will also give you more information.
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Paint Name
This is the common name of the paint color, for example, “Ultramarine Blue.”
Different brands may use the same marking name but different pigments, giving you a slightly different shade or tone of color.
As explained below, the different pigments are usually listed on the tube.
Sometimes, the paint name contains the word “Hue.” This means the manufacturer has mixed several different pigments to match a single color.
Mixing different pigments is done for various reasons. It may be because the original pigment contains something now considered toxic, or to make the color more light, or to offer a cheaper version of the original pigment.
One example is cadmium paints (Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, etc.).
Since cadmium is toxic, manufacturers are moving away from pure cadmium paints instead of making cadmium hues that contain no actual cadmium.
Lightfastness
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is the main standard for indicating lightfastness or permanence used by most major manufacturers.
The ASTM gives ratings ranging from I to V, with I being excellent, II being very good, III being fair, IV being poor, and V being very poor.
IV and V are not used in artist-quality paints, and III may not be permanent. Most artist-grade paint will have the lightfastness listed on either the front or back of the tube.
Pigment
The pigment gives paint its color and can be produced from either organic or synthetic material.
Each pigment has a unique set of letters and numbers, called the color index name, usually found on the back of the tube.
The two letters indicate the color family. For example, PR = P for pigment and R for red, so PR would be in the red color family. Similarly, PB would be blue, PY would be yellow, etc.
The numbers indicate the chemical compound present in the paint.
Only one color index name will be listed if the paint contains one pigment.
If the paint is a mixture of pigments, more than one color index name will be listed.
Paint Binder
Some manufacturers list the binder in the paint. A binder is a substance that binds the pigments together to form the paint.
Common binders are oil, acrylic polymer, gum Arabic, among others. Of course, acrylic paint would be bound with an acrylic polymer emulsion.
Opacity
A paint color is opaque if it hides the surface underneath. A color is transparent if you can see what is beneath the paint.
Some manufacturers list the opacity of the paint using either a symbol or a swatch of paint over black bars.
Paints are usually referred to as opaque, semi-transparent, or transparent.
ASTM Conformity
All paint will have a symbol or wording indicating that they conform to health and safety standards.
Depending on the law where the paint is manufactured and sold, different countries may have different health and safety warnings.
Most brands contain an AP seal indicating they are not toxic or harmful.
Series
Manufacturers use numbers or letters to group paint into various price ranges. The higher the letter or number, the more expensive the paint.
An expensive pigment like cadmium would have a high number, such as 8 or 9. A cheaper pigment like umber would be listed as a series 1 or 2.
Student-grade paints, which have a lot more binder and fillers relative to pigment, would be listed as series 1 or 2 and never higher than a 3.
Paint tubes also contain other information, such as the amount of paint in the tube, the name and address of the manufacturer, the country where the paint was made, and the manufacturer’s website address.
If you would like more information about a specific brand, you can check out its website. Most manufacturers have a wealth of information about their paint and tips on using their products.
Here are links to a few of the major manufacturers of acrylic paint.
I hope you find this helpful information and better understand what is written on your paint tubes. It is valuable information when deciding if you need an opaque color, a cheaper pigment, or if you want your paint to be lightfast.
There is so much more to paint than just color. 😊
If you have questions, you can leave them in the comments below. You can also join our free Facebook group, Trembeling Art Creative Corner, where you can ask questions, post your work and get to know some fantastic artists from all genres and skill levels. 😊
Thanks for reading.
Oh! I did have a question though — learning what “Hue” means was super helpful, but what does “Permanent” mean in a paint name?
Example: Cobalt Blue Hue vs. Light Blue Permanent
Hi John, I have done a lot of reading about the word “permanent” in relation to paint colors. You would think at first glance that permanent would mean that it is light fast. However, I have seen that a lot of manufacturers just use it as a name for the color and it doesn’t indicate the lightfastness of the paint itself so you still need to check either the tube or the manufacturer to make sure the paint is lightfast and won’t fade quickly. I hope this helps. 😊
Thank you, this was a really helpful post.
You are welcome John and thanks for reading. 😊
Thank you. This has been extremely helpful. I am 69 years young and just beginning painting. It’s never too late to learn something new.
Excellent Cathe love to read this. never too old to learn something new and relaxing
I can absolutely relate to this.
kind regards
Meisie from Swakopmund Namibia