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Tri-Art Labels

How to read a Tri-Art colour label. Learn what your paint is made of.

A carbon black high viscosity paint tube, focused on it's label information
A carbon black high viscosity paint tube, focused on it's label information
an example of the ASTM D 4236 logo that can be found on tri-art labels

ASTM 4236: Symbol

ASTM is an internationally recognized acronym that stands for “American Society for Testing and Materials”. ASTM 4236 compliant means that this label is in accordance to ASTM label standards for Health and Safety and has the required label warnings.

an example of a sticker that can be found on tri-art products showing it's batch number

Batch Number

This small white sticker indicates the specific batch number from which this paint was made and filled. This number is important for tracking purposes for our lab. It is a unique identifier for any questions or alerts regarding a paint produced in a single manufacturing run.

a row of boxes containing pigments in their raw form

Pigment Identifier

Carbon Black: PBk 7

This is the pigment identifier for this particular colour High Viscosity Carbon Black P = Pigment Bk = Black 

The number that follows “7” indicates the pigment’s assigned number.

Series

The series label indicates the series in which this paint falls within the entire line. For Tri-Art’s Finest Quality High Viscosity and Liquid lines, there are up to 11 series/pricing categories.

The most costly component of any paint is the pigment. Each colour is made up of one or more pigments, coming from a staggering variety of sources. Each of those pigments in turn has gone through a variety of manufacturing processes in order to become a compatible component of the paint. The difference in price reflects the pigment or pigments used and the amount of processing required.

a line up of low viscosity paint in squeezable jars
purple lines with a red semi-transparent paint overlapping to display it's opacity

Opacity

Opacity: O
This colour is considered “opaque” meaning that the coverage is full, layers underneath are not visible.

Opacity: SO
This colour is considered “ semi opaque” meaning that the coverage is not entirely full, layers underneath are semi visible.

Opacity: T
This colour is considered “transparent” meaning that the coverage is not full, layers underneath are visible.

a blue sky with the sun

Lightfastness

Carbon Black: ****

Four stars indicates that this colour is on the highest end of lightfastness scale; four stars is the maximum.

A pigment is considered to be lightfast, or light stable, if it resists fading over extended exposure to ultraviolet light. A pigment that cannot stand up to direct exposure to UV rays without fading is considered to be fugitive.