LABEL INFORMATION

Winsor & Newton was the first company to publish the contents of its colours in 1892, believing in the importance of providing as much information as possible. Today, all of this information is printed on our product labels, as well as in our literature and on our website.

Clear Label information

Providing good information for artists remains as important today as it was in 1892. Our label clearly shows what you need to know about each Artists' Acrylic colour including its colour composition and permanence.

One of the added benefits of the label on the Artists' Acrylic tube is that it has a hand painted colour swatch on the front face. This swatch shows the true hue of the colour in the tube as well as its opacity/transparency, brush stroke retention and the level of sheen.

Summary of key information on label

  • Colour name (eg; NAPHTHOL RED MEDIUM)
  • Product Code & Colour Code (eg; 2320423 - the last 3 digits = colour code)
  • Series number:
    The Series No. of a colour indicates the relative price of the colour and is determined mainly by the cost of the pigment. Series 1 is the least expensive and Series 5 is the most expensive.
  • Permanence Rating:
    The Winsor & Newton classification of permanence measures not only lightfastness but also film stability of the finished paint and chemical stability.
    • AA - Extremely Permanent
    • A - Permanent
    • B - Moderately Durable
  • ASTM Rating:
    The ASTM abbreviation stands for the American Society for Testing and Materials. This organisation has set standards for the performance of art materials including a colour's lightfastness. In this system I is the highest lightfastness available though both ratings I and II are considered permanent for artists' use.
  • Opacity Rating:
    Winsor & Newton use symbols to represent the transparency/opacity of colours of a colour. The transparent colours are marked with transparent logo or T, the semi-transparent colours are marked semi-transparent logo or ST. The relatively semiopaque colours are marked with semi-opaque logo or SO and the opaque colours are marked with opaque logo or O.
  • Pigment Content
  • Vehicle (Binder) Used

Mouse over tube to rotate and view full label information

example tube

Clear label information - Mediums

The labels on our mediums also clearly communicate the key information artists need to know.

Label

Summary of key information

  • Product name (e.g. GLOSS MEDIUM)
  • Key product performance property
    Maintains No Colour Shift
  • Key properties table
    This is the table on the top right hand side which provides a scale for various properties of the medium. This is explained further below.
  • Performance and usage information
  • Product code
  • Barcode
    We've developed a quick reference guide for the labels on our mediums with a key properties table. This allows you to see what the medium offers at a glance and make easy product comparisons.

    Label closeup
  • This table has scales for the following properties
    • Opacity to transparency
    • Gloss to matt finish
    • Fast drying to slow drying
    • Fluid to thick

    So this table for the Gloss Medium shows that the product is transparent, glossy, neither fast drying or slow drying, and fluid.
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