cadmium color key

The approximate color position of cadmium paints by different manufacturers, arranged along a color scale (at left) defined by commonly available synthetic organic pigments. Horizontal lines mark CIELAB hue angles from 30 to 100, in increments of 10. Color labels within each brand are the manufacturer's paint names. Thus, Holbein's cadmium yellow pale is the same hue as M. Graham's cadmium yellow light or Winsor & Newton's cadmium lemon.

Positions of the paints were determined by visual inspection and digital color measurements with a GretagMacbeth Spectrolino spectrophotometer, using paint samples from 1999-2007 retail inventory.

Paints shown as having the same hue may not have the same color appearance because of differences in saturation or lightness. Note that most cadmium paints change hue slightly from masstone to undertone.

SYNTHETIC ORGANIC MARKER PIGMENTS:

hansa yellow light = PY3
hansa yellow medium = PY97
hansa yellow deep = PY65
benzimidazolone orange = PO62
perinone orange = PO43
naphthol scarlet = PR188
pyrrole red = PR254
benzimidazolone carmine = PR176