However, because the process of getting these pigments officially approved can still take a year or more even after being submitted, we felt it was important to have our labelling reflect as much information as possible during this period. So ask: what is an unspecialised craftsman? Poor lightfastness (Fugitive). They claim much, but guarantee nothing. It is the first product we manufactured. Are traditional manufacturing methods really better than modern methods? However, all six samples of our Dioxazine came in as the equivalent of ASTM I, while averaged results for Quinacridone Magenta were still within current ASTM I standards. Risk from Skin Contact. No matter: even in these cases, the color index information will clear up most of the confusion. In fact, these are standard manufacturing details described to make them sound special. Unfortunately, it is not a color we have tested in the last few years, although we did test Phthalo Green which performed as a solid I. So why do many contemporary painters still use fugitive materials? When a reference strip in the scale begins to discolor, all paints that have also begun to discolor at that point but not before are rated as having that level of lightfastness. In all cases, again, these names tell you nothing about what is actually in the paint. Is honey from the Alps really a better humectant than honey from Spain or France? Therefore, starting in January, we will implement the same guidelines that will be used by our Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors, which we share elsewhere in this current issue: namely, colors that are currently listed as NA but which tested as the equivalent of ASTM Lightfastness I will be given an interim rating of Excellent, while those testing as ASTM II will be assigned a lightfastness rating of Good. The bigger, and in some ways more important one, is the hope to expand the list of pigments rated by the ASTM Standard for Watercolors for the first time in nearly 20 years. Environmental Impact. Although paint manufacturers have become more forthright, you cannot depend on paint manufacturers to name paints accurately. This number is occasionally withheld to protect proprietary pigment recipes, and is not part of the ASTM standards.). The pigment begins to fade in 2 to 15 years, even with proper mounting and display. - Draw and Paint For Fun, QoR Permanent Scarlet Discontinued | Just Paint, Understanding the Techniques of Pouring Acrylics, Defining Warm and Cool Colors: It’s All Relative, Oiling Out and the Cause of Dead Spots in Oil Paintings. Hopefully these two examples will provide an opportunity for the subcommittee to create a system to resolve these types of contradictory ratings when they arise. The dyes have been chosen so that each reference takes about two to three times longer to begin fading as the next lower reference in the scale. Paint labeling is probably the least interesting topic on watercolor paints ... like reading the fire tag on a new mattress. In terms of the specific colors you are interested in, PR 264 has tested consistently in oils as equivalent to ASTM LF I. This is important for the simple fact that even those paints with extremely lightfast pigments may change colour if the wrong binders or additives were used. "Permanent" is especially misleading: it was originally a 19th century paint marketing label that meant "a synthetic organic pigment that is not derived from aniline"; it has never meant "a paint that won't fade". Used and disposed of properly, nearly all pigments used in modern watercolor paints have no toxic consequences whatsoever. Finally, the ASTM standards recommend that the packaging show the paint's ASTM or manufacturer lightfastness rating, and federal or state (California) law requires a health warning for pigments that may poison or cause allergic reactions (as described below). This is one of those oddities caused by ASTM’s current ratings for pigments used in watercolors, where Phthalo Blue (one of the colors in Indigo) is surprisingly rated as a Lightfastness II. (top) unexposed; (bottom) exposed to sunlight for 800+ hours. To make paints, the different paint manufacturers use these pigments in different concentrations, and add different amounts of extenders or brighteners. But artistic preferences become a public concern as soon as artists receive payment for their work. Learn more about lightfastness and how my testing is done further down this page. Direct sunlight is the biggest culprit in causing colours to fade. But what you really pay for is the pigment powder, because pigments create the color. In Xenon tests, it had a Delta E of 3.08, which is still a solid I. I would not have any hesitancy in recommending it as a permanent pigment. But the debate was put to rest by the Report ... on the Action of Light on Water Colours (1888) by the chemist Walter Russell and the amateur painter Capt. And ask yourself ... how big is the piece of rich and colorful history that fits into a tube of paint? Today, paint health labeling standards for products sold in the United States follow the guidelines set down by the ASTM: "Conforms to ASTM D4236" means the paint packaging or label provides health information as recommended by the ASTM technical report Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards (D4236-94(2001)). Old Holland makes 168 oil colours and 168 watercolors ... it's obvious what has happened. So lightfastness is also measured by exposing paint samples to prolonged artificial light, which produces more accurate and reliable results than sunlight testing. Now, the color index name or constitution number is the most reliable way to identify paint ingredients. To be toxic in "foreseeable use or misuse," the exposure must extend over months or years, and must be to the most toxic (water soluble cadmium, lead chromate or cobalt arsenite) pigments. Instead, they would only be required to look up the pigment on the ASTM pigment table and report that. most artists continued to ignore the problem, American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Methods for Lightfastness of This confusion is an entrenched habit, abetted by the marketing techniques of art materials manufacturers, but a conscientious effort by artists, authors and publishers can put it in the past. I’m also wondering if your test results have resulted in ASTM pigment lightfastness rating changes since the publication of your article about 2 years ago? William de W. Abney. In each of these three cases single pigment, convenience mixture or hue mixture the paint manufacturer is free to give the paint whatever marketing name it deems appropriate. Handmade may sound as desirable as homemade, but if you imagine that handmade means some guy with an industrial blender in his garage, and homemade means granny drooled in the batter, then the magic evaporates. The most important point to understand about the names of watercolor paints is the simple difference between pigments and "colors." Well, obviously! Tested according to ASTM D4301. You also can verify that neither paint contains a speck of the historical pigment emerald green, PG21, the poisonous copper acetoarsenite. Blue wool 4-5. These ASTM guidelines require paints to be labeled toxic, or potential health hazards, if "in the opinion of a toxicologist" the pigment in the paint might produce "a chronic adverse health effect" as a result of any "reasonable foreseeable use or misuse" of the paints. Keep in mind that some watercolor paint manufacturers simply quote the lightfastness test results provided by the pigment manufacturers, who commonly test their pigments in an oil or acrylic dispersion. What is a handmade job? As an artist and consumer, you should be skeptical of published lightfastness ratings, whether of the permanency of a generic pigment, or the permanency of a specific brand of watercolor paint. I’m wondering if you have continued testing the lightfastness of pigments since the article above?, and if you have, where I might be able to see those results? A paint with the marketing name cobalt blue contains only one pigment ingredient: cobalt blue (PB28). The crux of the problem is that paint manufacturers can name a paint anything they want. This distinction is essential to understand if you want to get the right pigments in the watercolor paints you buy. Pigments Used in Artists' Paints (D4303-03), Standard Specification for Artists' Watercolor Paints (D5067-99), Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards (D4236-94(2001)), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Modern printing technology is highly standardized. All modern industrial powdered pigments are shipped in "pure" form, all paint manufacturers premix the paint ingredients before milling; all genuine gum arabic is harvested by hand, etc.