Umbers are one of the oldest pigments used by mankind, being based on the naturally occurring Umber ore. These natural Iron-Oxides are known for their durability, being both lightfast and chemically resistant. As such, they are considered permanent pigments. Hoover Color’s 418RU is one of the highest quality Raw Umbers on the market today. It combines ease of dispersion with high color strength.

One of the characteristics that makes Raw Umbers such useful pigments, is that they are a “neutral toner.” Often brighter colored pigments are too bright (or have too much chroma) for a given application. Adding a black pigment to darken these colors add an undesirable color component from the black. Raw Umbers maintain a neutral tone, reducing a brighter pigment’s chroma without affecting the hue. As a result, Raw Umbers are a major component in today’s architectural coatings coloring systems, and other tinting systems as well.