A deep, violet-toned maroon, similar to Perylene Violet.
Pigment Stats for PR171
Other Names: Benzimidazolone Bordeaux
Lightfastness: Excellent (I) per Bruce MacEvoy
Toxicity: Nontoxic (A) per ArtIsCreation
Observations of Daniel Smith’s Napthamide Maroon
Hue: A deep bordeaux/claret color. Grades to a pale/dull pink.
Gradient: Quite smooth, slightly streaky.
Opacity: Transparent, but dark.
Comparison to Other Colors
Perylene Violet
The most obvious comparison is to Perylene Violet. The two colors are very similar.
Napthamide Maroon is slightly warmer (more toward a dark red). I also found that the gradient was smoother with less of an awkward jump between midtone and pale tone. Both colors had a drying shift, though I found that Napthamide Maroon tended to dry lighter whereas Perylene Violet tended to dull.
Color Mixes
Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150)
A series of browns that I guess are kind of like earths, but like, bizarro earths.
Brilliant Hansa Yellow (PY74)
Soft ochre browns with a bold yellow pigment.
Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65)
Sort of a rusty red with a yellow-orange.
Benzimida Orange (PO62)
Dull rust colors; this combo reminds me of cranberry sauce with orange zest.
Pyrrol Scarlet (PR255)
Combos with scarlet make slightly dulled middle red/crimson hues.
Naphthol Scarlet (PR188)
I think this mix is a bit brighter than the Pyrrol Scarlet mix.
Quinacridone Coral (PR209)
Pyrrol Rubin (PR264)
Very deep crimson. The colors don’t look different enough to provide a giant contrast, but the mix is more of a blood-red than either of them alone.
Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone (PV19)
Similar to the PR264 mix, but more transparent with less body to it.
Quinacridone Magenta (PR122)
Napthamide Maroon truly functions here like a dark magenta.
Phthalo Turquoise (PB16)
With Phthalo Turquoise, mixes almost a perfect black, that’s slightly violet-toned.
Cerulean Blue (PB36)
Pretty, granulating, very muted mauves.
Perylene Green (PBk31)
Makes black with Perylene Green, as does Perylene Violet and Perylene Maroon. All of these mixes are capable of making a striking black although I find it hard to control the intensity due to the drying shift.
What Others Say
Although these pigments [Perylene Violet and Napthamide Maroon] are quite different in terms of where they are stored within the pigment number categories, they are very similar in actuality when you are painting with them. The Napthamide Maroon is definitely more on the red side, while Perylene Violet has a slightly more violet tone to it; however, both of these colors are definitely within the brick red category. … I feel like I prefer these [Napthamide Maroon] colors just a hair above the Perylene Violet mixtures. They tend to be a little bit warmer, which, as you know, I love.
Denise Soden, My Top 5 Favorite Watercolors: Purples
An inessential pigment. The color is easily reproduced with a mixture of quinacridone red (PR209) and phthalo green (PG7).
Bruce MacEvoy, handprint.com
My Review of Napthamide Maroon
It’s silly, because this color is so similar to Perylene Violet, but… weirdly… I like this color better?? I feel like I’m always disappointed by the dullness of Perylene Violet, but for some reason, Napthamide Maroon dries and mixes in a way I find more intuitive. I’m not sure anyone other than me would even see a difference.
I respectfully disagree with Bruce MacEvoy that this shade is easy to mix with PR209 and PG7. My results from mixing those colors resulted in kind of dirty grays.
As a deepener of reds, its classic use case, I find it can introduce a “dirty” look that I am not a fan of, likely due to its awkward texture that’s not quite granulation.
I find that Perylenes do the same thing, especially on cheap paper.
Favorite version: DS is the only one I know of.
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Daniel Smith – Napthamide Maroon (PR171), 15ml tube: Blick | Utrecht