Prismacolor is one of the premier names in markers and colored pencils; with that prestige comes a hefty price tag so think twice before you hand these to the kids to play with. I have been using the Prismacolor for more than fifteen years; when I go to my local art store I am truly like a kid in a candy shop – standing in front of the huge rack of individual colors trying hard t resist the urge to pick one of each of them. The sets are a nice investment if you like to draw or do any type of art work but there are more than a few different types of Prismacolor pencils on the market so you have to do some homework to find out which ones are going to be the best for your individual needs.

Sanford Prismacolor Assorted 72 Count Art Pencils

First off, if you are wondering why this is listed as "SP" in the database, that stands for Sanford Products [or 'Sanford Professional' or even 'Sanford Prismacolor' according to Sanford's customer service team]. I have no idea why it is listed simply as "SP" as I would think that would make it rather hard to find if someone was doing a search of products. Moreover, the lack of the Prismacolor name in the titles makes it even less accessible to visitors or members seeking information. There is a company called S.P. Richards but they are simply a retailer of office supplies and do not make or manufacture products, they just retail them. That could be part of the problem with the listing in the database; they could have come in off of a feed from the S.P. Richards site. What ever the case, these are Sanford Prismacolor Colored Pencils. Sanford customer service reps were puzzled by this but the assured me that they are the only ones that indeed make the Prismacolor line.

Premier, Lightfast, Verithin, Watercolor, Col-Erase, Scholar and Art Stix are the various types of colored pencils that you have to choose from, each with a different purpose and appeal. Then there is the Colorless Blender that can be used to - you guessed it - blend different colors together. With all these different choices, it is hard to pick out which one is going to be best for you; the ones that I am writing about are in the Premier line. They are considered the basic colored pencils from Prismacolor but that seems like I am slighting them a little. To compare these to any other colored pencil is like comparing no name yogurt to Yoplait – there simply is no way to put them on the same level. I recommend that Premier ones to most people because they are easy to work with, blendable and the least costly of the bunch.

Color Selection

There are a total of 72 colors in this set, there are no duplicate colors like you find in the larger sets so you are really getting a nice spectrum to choose from regardless of what you are using them for. Each of the pencils has the Prismacolor name stamped on it along with the color number and name too. This makes it a snap to buy more of the ones that you are using often without mismatching the shade. One thing I really love is the assortment of gray tones; Prismacolor does make a gray tone set but unless you are doing something that is all metallic in color or has a lot of chrome shading, chances are you won't really benefit from purchasing it.

Indigo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, True Blue, Cerulean Blue, Aquamarine, Copenhagen Blue, Dark Green, Grass Green, True Green, Olive Green, Apple Green, Spring Green, Cream, Lemon Yellow, Canary Yellow, Sunburst Yellow, Orange, Pale Vermillion, Poppy Red, Crimson Red, Crimson Lake, Carmine Red, Light Peach, Blush Pink, Pink, Magenta, Dark Purple, Violet, Violet Blue, Black, Tuscan Red, White, Peach, Sand, Light Umber, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Ochre, Terra Cotta, Sienna Brown, Dark Brown, Dark Umber, Sepia, Metallic Silver, Metallic Gold, Lilac, Chartreuse, Light Aqua, Process Red, Mulberry, Beige, Yellow Orange, Spanish Orange, Yellow Chartreuse, Limepeel, Parrot Green, Imperial Violet, Parma Violet, Jade Green, Cloud Blue, Peacock Blue, Goldenrod, Warm Grey 20%, Warm Grey 50%, Warm Grey 70%, Cool Grey 20%, Cool Grey 50%, Cool Grey 70%, French Grey 20%, French Grey 50%, French Grey 70%, Putty Beige, Ginger Root

The colors that I really love from this set are Cloud Blue, the metallics, Parma Violet, Sand and Crimson Lake. Even though all the colors are vibrant and impacting, the ones listed above are my all time favorites. The Crimson Lake is the closest I could come to a true sanguine color without having it be overkill. Leave it to Sanford and Prismacolor to create a color that so closely resembles dried blood.

Price

Remember when I said that these weren't cheap, well, this is where I drop the bomb on you about the price of this set. These cost anywhere from $80.00 to $90.00 depending on where you are shopping. As much as I hate to say it, the upscale art stores and ones near college campuses are the ones that are going to really jack the price up and rake you over the coals. In my opinion, these are the best colored pencils on the market so when I want strong colors, I don't mind paying a little more for these. They are usually the first choice of most artists and I think Sanford knows that hence the price tag. Even so, I can't complain about them because the shades are incredible and the color choices sometimes feel like they are endless.

The Bottom Line

The colors in this set are incredible; if you are an artist you know that the shades they create for any of the Prismacolor sets are rich and hearty but at the same time completely blendable so the colors you can create by mixing shades is endless. While this is an expensive set, it isn't the largest available. Sanford stands behind all their products and this Prismacolor assortment is no different; if you aren't satisfied in any way, they will literally bend over backwards to make you happy. When I purchased this set it was sealed and in a nice storage box but two of the pencils were cracked. I assume that this happened when they were being shipped or something was placed on top of it. I contact Sanford and they send me replacement pencils along with a prepaid mailer and asked me to send back the broken ones so they could find out exactly what happened to them. Needless to say, I was impressed with how they handled that situation.


As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2007 Freak369


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Prismacolor Verithin Colored Pencils 36 Color Set
Prismacolor Double-Ended Art Markers 48 Color Set with Stacker
Prismacolor Double-Ended Art Markers 12 Color Set

For the kids…
Crayola Water Color Pencils
RoseArt 12 Count Presharpened Colored Pencils




Recommended: Yes