Discontinued Pigment — PR168

UPDATE 05.28.2021: QoR announced that they have received a new supply of PR168 so their Permanent Scarlet will continue to be produced. I’m not sure if other paint makers will follow suit, but I noticed that several online US retailers have Daniel Smith’s version of PR168 (Anthraquinoid Scarlet) in stock. Hopefully they found a long-term solution to keep producing these paints.

Fans of the pigment PR168 will be disappointed to learn that the pigment has been discontinued by the manufacturer. After the announcement was made, it became difficult to find single-pigment versions of the paints. If you love this pigment or just have been wanting to try it, now is the time to snatch it up before it’s gone forever.

This post from Just Paint that explains the discontinuation in further detail.

Here is a list of some single-pigment PR168 watercolors from https://singlepigmentpaints.com. (If you’ve never visited this website, you should check it out, especially if you try to collect mostly single-pigment paints).

I own two brands of single-pigment PR168 — QoR’s Permanent Scarlet (listed as “Golden” in the above screenshot and Daniel Smith’s Anthraquinoid Scarlet. They are both vivid colors that are useful for mixing.

I’m in the process of identifying similar colors to use as replacements. Currently, Sennelier’s French Vermillion (PR242) is at the top of my list.

Stay tuned! I’m going to do swatches of other possible replacements and will post them when I’m finished.