Manganese Blue PB33 vs imitations
På SvenskaManganese Blue (PB33) is a pigment that hasn’t been manufactured since the late 1980s. It can still be found through small producers of handmade paints, but if you come across the paint, it will be very expensive. The production was discontinued mainly due to environmental concerns and health risks, but reduced demand also contributed to the decision to stop making this pigment.
I have a small stock of genuine Manganese Blue left, but it won’t last forever. Since the color is important to me, it might be a good idea to search for a substitute that comes close to the original. Most watercolor manufacturers offer a color they call Manganese Blue, sometimes with added descriptors like hue, deep, extra, nova, or similar. Most of these substitutes use Phthalo Blue (PB15) as a base pigment; some mix in white, others add a third pigment, while some use only Phthalo Blue.
Manganese Blue is a watercolor that is very difficult to replicate. It has unique properties that are hard to achieve. It granulates strongly, has a light turquoise, almost glowing tone, adheres minimally to paper, and is very easy to lift off. These properties are difficult to replicate using Phthalo Blue as a base. Phthalo Blue is highly staining and dries flat, with no granulation.
Most manufacturers simply ignore the distinctive appearance of the original and mix some white into Phthalo Blue, considering that good enough. However, a color that lacks all the properties being imitated—and doesn’t even have the right tone—is not a good substitute. Of all manufacturers attempting to create a suitable replacement for Manganese Blue, most agree that Daniel Smith has made the best effort. I have therefore purchased a tube of this color and will, in this text, compare it to genuine Manganese Blue and try to draw a conclusion.
If you, like me, can’t manage without Manganese Blue but aren’t willing to buy outrageously expensive handmade watercolors (which will also disappear when the stock of pigment runs out), this text might help answer whether there’s a reasonable substitute for the original.
First, a comparison of two genuine Manganese Blues: the first from Winsor & Newton and the second from Lukas. Among these, W&N’s paint is slightly more granulating than Lukas’s. It also has a richer tone, while Lukas’s version is slightly milky. This is hard to capture in photos but is evident in person. The W&N paint is slightly more transparent than Lukas’s, though both are somewhat opaque. Regarding staining, all three lift off the paper relatively easily, with W&N lifting the most. Daniel Smith’s imitation differs from the two genuine versions by being slightly more vibrant, bluer, nearly transparent, and granulating significantly less.
Manganese Blue was an expensive pigment, which tempted manufacturers to stretch it with various additives. Lukas produces relatively inexpensive paints, and their colors are often less intense compared to those from other manufacturers. One reason for cheap paints reduced intensity and slight opacity might be that they stretch the pigment with fillers or brighteners.
Manganese is also a very heavy pigment, which you can notice when picking up a tube—it’s heavier than other paint tubes. This weight also makes it tricky to work with; the heavy pigment particles sink immediately in water and adhere to the surface right away. The patterns the paint creates when applied stay fixed; they can’t be altered with water or by scrubbing without creating a muddy mess. Naturally, all imitations lack this challenging property. The same goes for the unusual tone, which can be described as a turquoise blue with a yellow undertone.
The differences between the genuine colors and the DS substitute are significant, but most agree that Daniel Smith’s attempt comes closest among various manufacturers’ efforts to replicate true Manganese Blue.
Granulation in Phthalo Blue is achieved by using a coarser variant of the pigment, not ground to the usual fine consistency. This also creates some opacity, high lightfastness, and reduces staining. Regarding the light, brilliant tone, I refer to Kimberly Crick, who suggests that this effect is achieved using fluorescent brighteners. You can read her conclusions here.
Summary
I believe that trying to imitate discontinued or expensive colors with other pigments usually yields disappointing results. No modern pigment can recreate Gamboge or Quinacridone Gold. However, I must say that I appreciate Daniel Smith’s inventive approach to manipulating Phthalo Blue into something resembling Manganese Blue.
So, while the color does not share many similarities with the original, it is a highly usable color for the same purposes as Manganese Blue. Perhaps we should disregard the name and simply see it as an alternative to light turquoise-blue, which can replace Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, or, for that matter, the discontinued Manganese Blue.
