Buy art supplies cheaply: Where student-quality products pay off and how to distinguish real from fake discounts

Anyone who paints regularly notices it at the checkout: paint, canvas, and brushes quickly add up. At the same time, few topics persist as stubbornly as the question of whether student-grade paints "only for beginners" and whether the crossed-out price in the online shop is really a bargain.

For this article, I compared the regular prices of common paint lines at gerstaecker.de , always using the same shade, ultramarine blue, to ensure a fair comparison. I also took into account the rules that have applied to discount information in Germany since 2022.

Academic or artistic quality: What's the difference?

Most manufacturers offer two lines. At Winsor & Newton, these are called Cotman and Professional (watercolor) and Winton and Artists' Oil Colour (oil), while for acrylics , Liquitex Basics and Golden Heavy Body examples. The differences lie primarily in three points:

• Pigment content: Artists' paints contain more pigment and less filler. They provide better coverage, cleaner glazes, and can be diluted more without becoming pale.
• Genuine pigments or substitutes: Expensive pigments like cadmium or cobalt are replaced by less expensive mixtures in studies. This is indicated by the addition of "imit.", "hue," or "color." In the Cotman range, for example, it says "Cadmium Yellow imit." (½ pan €2.30). Even within the same artist's range, this difference exists: Golden Heavy Body Cadmium Yellow Medium costs €20.55 in a 59 ml tube, while the variant "Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue" costs €14.74.
• Price groups: Artists' paints are classified according to pigment costs. For W&N Artists' Oil, a 37ml tube costs between €10.45 and €41.45 depending on the color, while for W&N Professional Watercolor, a 14ml tube costs between €11.80 and €18.80.

Lightfastness: the really important specification

Whether a picture will look the same in twenty years as it does today depends less on the product line than on the lightfastness of the individual pigment. The US standard ASTM D4303 is widely used: color samples are exposed to accelerated light, and the measured color change (ΔE) determines the category.

Category I ("excellent") allows a maximum ΔE of 4, Category II up to 8, and from Category III onwards it becomes critical for pictures intended to be hung on the wall. In Europe, the Blauwoll scale with eight steps is also common, in which the exposure time until a visible change roughly doubles with each step.

Important: Even student-grade paints carry this information. Gerstaecker specifies the ASTM lightfastness for each color in their Liquitex Basics range, and according to the product description, the series is based on the same pigment base as Liquitex artist-grade acrylic paints. Conversely, not every artist-grade paint is automatically permanent: W&N Artists' Oil explicitly lists alizarin crimson as the only color not classified as "permanent." Therefore, my advice is: Don't rely on the "artist" label, but check the pigment code (ultramarine is PB29) and lightfastness on the tube or in the data sheet.

What does a milliliter really cost?

Tube prices alone are not very informative, as sizes vary considerably. Converting to milliliters, the following picture emerges for ultramarine blue (regular prices gerstaecker.de incl. VAT, as of October 29, 2026, excluding promotional prices):

Two things are striking. First, the tube size often has a greater impact than the quality level: Artists' Oil in the 200 ml tube costs the same per milliliter (€0.16) as the small 37 ml tube of the Winton Study range. Second, the difference is greatest with watercolors. The 5 ml tube of W&N Professional costs almost four times as much per milliliter as the large Cotman tube.

Large containers are only worthwhile for colors you actually use up: white, a blue, an earth tone. Titanium white costs €13.10 for a 200ml tube at Winton, and €26.20 at Artists' Oil. For accent colors that you only need twice a year, the small tube remains the more sensible choice, because dried-out paint is the most expensive milliliter of paint.

When artistic quality pays off

• Watercolor and glazes: If paint is heavily diluted, student-grade paints quickly lose their vibrancy and pigment. This is where the extra cost is most noticeable.
• For works that have been sold or exhibited: then tested lightfastness is mandatory, regardless of which line the color comes from.
• Practice, sketching, underpainting, large areas: student-quality paints are sufficient here. A practical approach is to use a mixed strategy: white and underpainting paints from the budget range, and glazes and fluorescent paints in artist quality.

Canvas: roll or ready-made stretcher frame?

The advice often given about canvases is that stretching them yourself is always cheaper. According to my calculations, this isn't true for standard sizes. A roll of Galleria canvas (100% cotton, approx. 345 g/m²) from Gerstaecker, measuring 2.10 × 10 m, costs €176.40, or €8.40 per m². For a 50 × 70 cm frame, you need about 60 × 80 cm including the hem, which costs around €4 for the fabric. However, the empty 50 × 70 cm stretcher frame already costs €12.54, bringing the total to around €16.50, plus the cost of a stapler and labor. A pre-stretched Gerstaecker Studio 2 stretcher frame (380 g/m²) in the same size costs €13.45, or €72.60 for a pack of six (€12.10 each).

The roll is still worthwhile in three cases: for special formats and very large pictures when reusing existing stretcher frames, and for studies on loose canvas that are only mounted once they are successful. Then you only pay around €8.40 per square meter of fabric.

How to spot genuine discounts: the 30-day rule

Since May 28, 2022, Section 11 of the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV). Anyone announcing a price reduction to consumers must state the lowest total price charged in the 30 days prior to the reduction. A price raised shortly before the promotion is therefore no longer a valid reference. Some shops display this value very openly; Penstore, for example, shows it as "Lowest price 1-30 days before price reduction".

Two limitations should be noted: According to Section 11 Paragraph 4, individual price reductions are among the exceptions. Furthermore, comparing a price to a non-binding recommended retail price (RRP) does not constitute a price reduction; therefore, a "-40% off the RRP" says nothing about what the shop was charging last week.

Before Black Friday: Check prices in four steps

1. Now, make a note: Record the price of the desired tube or canvas along with the date, ideally with a screenshot. This will allow you to most effectively assess the Black Friday discounts
2. On the day of the promotion, compare the price to the stated 30-day lowest price, not to the RRP or list price.
3. Compare base prices: According to Sections 4 and 5 of the German Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV), the price per liter must also be stated for paints. This allows for a direct comparison of 8 ml and 21 ml tubes.
4. Calculating the cost of sets: The Liquitex Basics primary set with 5 x 118 ml costs €30.70. Five individual tubes at the price of Ultramarine Blue (€6.54) would come to €32.70. The set therefore saves around €2, but only if you actually need all five colors.

Other ways to save money

• Wholesale with proof of enrollment: boesner sells to registered customers. According to the registration form, this includes freelance artists as well as students and pupils of artistic or design subjects with proof of enrollment or a certificate of study.
• Test first, then buy: Instead of a 14 ml tube for €13.10, buy half a pan (W&N Professional: €6.30) or a color card with dried samples. Daniel Smith "Dot Cards" are available, for example, at peters-art.de starting at €2.99.
• Discontinued product lines and remaining stock: When product ranges are changed, it's worth taking a look at the relevant shop categories. Here too, the rule applies: A genuine price reduction must state the lowest price within the last 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I mix student and artist paints?

Yes, as long as the binder is the same, i.e., oil with oil and acrylic with acrylic. However, the durability of the mixture depends on the least lightfast pigment in it.

Is the largest tube always the cheapest?

Almost always per milliliter. In our comparison, Liquitex Basics costs €0.03 per ml in the 946 ml bottle, and roughly twice as much in the 118 ml tube. However, this is only an advantage if the dye is used up before it dries out.

How can I identify a replacement pigment?

The suffix ("imit.", "hue", "hue") and the pigment code on the label indicate the color. True cadmium yellow bears the code PY35 or PY37; a hue substitute is usually a mixture of other yellow pigments.

Conclusion

Student-grade paint is not a makeshift solution, but rather the sensible choice for practice, underpainting, and large areas. You save money primarily by choosing the right tube size, selecting specific artist-quality paints where pigment density is crucial, and taking a pragmatic look at discounts: the decisive factor is the lowest price within the last 30 days, not the original price.

Sources

• Section 11 of the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV) (Price Reductions): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pangv_2022/__11.html
• Sections 4 and 5 of the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV) (basic price): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pangv_2022/__4.html, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pangv_2022/__5.html
• ASTM D4303 (Lightfastness of artists' colors): https://www.astm.org/d4303-10r22.html
• Lightfastness and blue wool scale: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtechtheit
• Prices on Gerstaecker (accessed October 29, 2026): https://www.gerstaecker.de/winsor-newton-cotman-feine-aquarellfarbe-einzeln.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/winsor-newton-professional-water-colour-kuenstler-aquarellfarbe-einzeln.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/winsor-newton-winton-studienoelfarbe-einzeln.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/winsor-newton-artists-oil-colour-oelfarben-einzeln.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/liquitex-basics-acrylfarben-einzeln.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/golden-acrylics-heavy-body-acrylfarbe.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/maltuch-galleria.html https://www.gerstaecker.de/gerstaecker-studio-2-keilrahmen.html, https://www.gerstaecker.de/gerstaecker-leere-keilrahmen.html
• boesner New Customer Registration: https://www.boesner.com/cms/fileadmin/user_upload/user_upload/niederlassungen/duesseldorf/Neukunden-Anmeldung_boesner_Duesseldorf-18.pdf
• Daniel Smith Dot Cards: https://peters-art.de/DANIEL-SMITH-Extra-Fine-Watercolor-Dot-Cards/12187.2

Ali Zain

Zain Ali writes for SchnellRabatt.de, a free voucher and savings portal from Leipzig that checks discount codes and publishes money-saving tips. His focus: transparent price comparisons and determining which discounts are truly genuine.

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