"That’s all very well and interesting,” you say. In this case for Cerulean Blue, it's PB 35. You can see the P number on the label just above the barcode on the left. The illustration below is typical of the labelling found on paints. Again, this particular example is from Winsor & Newton, who I'd like to thank for so willingly giving me permission to use their images and charts in this article. What is likely to be far more productive for you is to check individual paint manufacturer’s sites, all of which have details of the formulation of their paints.
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Now you need to be a subscriber to the two Society's sites to access the full lists and to be honest, unless you are a chemist, the amount of detailed information would probably be overwhelming. If so, then you may be close to finding an alternative. Bear in mind though that many colours are blended from more than one pigment, so will have two or more P numbers. What the lists reveal is whether another colour, regardless of manufacturer, contains the same P number as the one you don’t have. The list or Colour Index is jointly maintained and published by the Society of Dyers & Colourists (SDC) and the American Association of Textile Chemists & Colourists (AATCC) and effectively provides a world-wide standard in paint pigments. So for example, the P number for Cadmium Red is PR108 (P for pigment, R for red) while for Ultramarine Blue it's PB 29. It's a system that has been around since 1924 when it was recognised that there was a need for a consistent and dependable means of categorising pigments for use in the paint and dyeing industries.Įach pigment is given a unique number, sub-divided for clarity by the addition of another letter to denote a colour.
![crimson gray artist crimson gray artist](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YCAAAOSwuN5fwcfb/s-l400.jpg)
The P (or pigment) number is found on the tubes of all decent quality paints. Side note: bear with me for this section - it sounds all a bit complicated at first but it leads to a very simple and practical conclusion. So is there anything you can do to make things a little more predictable? Actually, there is light at the end of the tunnel. But you can see that by substituting even the same colour from one company to another, you’re likely to get a different outcome.
![crimson gray artist crimson gray artist](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/z5EAAOSwgbNgbId7/s-l300.jpg)
It all comes down to personal choice and what you want to use it for.