What do the B, D, H, M, and O stand for on Schmincke pastels?

Schmincke soft pastels come in a massive range of 400 colors, but they are brilliantly organized. The line is built on 75 base color families, with each family offered in five distinct graduations of value:

• D: The pure, unmixed base pigment.
• B: The base color mixed with black (PBk11 / Iron Oxide Black) to create a darker shade.
• H: The base color mixed with white (PW6 / Titanium White) to create a lighter shade.
• M: The base color mixed with more white for a medium-light shade.
• O: The base color mixed with the maximum amount of white to create the palest, lightest shade in that family.

So, when you are looking at pastels that share the same first three digits, the B variant is the darkest value, the D variant is the most highly saturated pigment, and the O variant is the lightest shade.

This logical numbering system makes reading a color chart so much easier at a glance compared to the wild-west naming systems used by other brands! 🤔