Holbein ranks as one of the world's finest lines of professional oil colors. The Holbein Artists’ Oil Paints rank as one of the world's finest lines of professional oil colors. The formulation of each color is modified individually to compensate for the inherent differences in the working characteristics of pigments, for an even consistency across the entire palette of color.

Holbein maintains its quality standards by test inspection of pigment purity, color tone, applicability and adhesion, physical stability, light stability, thermo-stability, and anti-bacterial stability. Pigments are ground from three to five times as necessary to achieve a universally consistent viscosity. The manufacturing process in each of the preparation, mixing, grinding, adjustment, and filling stages is monitored by reference to optimum quality standards.

Foundation colors contain a high percentage of opaque pigment suspended in linseed oil. They provide a barrier between the painting and the primed surface and are perfect for underpainting and texturizing the surface prior to painting.

Transparent colors are pre-thinned for glazing, handcoloring photographs, and decorative painting on many surfaces, including glass.