This is one area where the pigment codes get very confusing. Are you ready? Ok. Good. The names for the carbon blacks are used somewhat freely by paintmakers, and it can be a bit of a trick to figure out which is which. The ASTM and Handprint both identify PBk6 as "Lamp Black," whereas Artiscreation identifies PBk6 as a naturally occurring very black graphite (Shungite) which is only found in a particular deposit in Russia. Ok, well before we settle into complacency another trusted source lists "Lamp Black" as PBk10. There is also some confusion about the difference between PBk6 Carbon Black and PBk7 Carbon Black. We're going to go with Lamp Black as PBk6 for the present.

In general, carbon black pigments are extremely dark cool black pigments. In regards to lamp black, it pulls toward the blues in mixes and can pull yellow towards green. It tends to be quite opaque and lightfast.

It takes a very large amount of oil to make this pigment into a paint, and it naturally inhibits the drying as well. We have heard that most if not all the paints contain driers and are still very slow drying.

Not all painters love the way this color handles in mixes, and many convenience blacks have been proposed over the years which will combine in a more friendly way than Lamp Black. However in some cases, Lamp Black is recommended for landscape shadows as it pulls toward a cool blue.

In terms of health, Carbon black itself is sometimes listed as a carcinogen, so like all pigments handle with care. According to Monona Rossol's work, in regards to both PBk6 and PBk7, "Old manufacturing processes create cancer-causing impurities. New manufacturing processes can produce it without," but it is difficult to know whether one's carbon black has impurities. She goes on to add that nanoparticle carbon black is actually toxic just by itself. Also note: Shungite shares this pigment code, however this is mostly in relation to Russian Icons. Natural Pigments sells this rare version of PBk6. Since this is only from Karelia, Russia, most PBk6 will refer to normal carbon black. Carbon black is associated with slow drying, and may slow drying of other colors when mixed with other pigments. PBk7 is a closely related pigment, and the two are somewhat enmeshed in the literature.

Some companies call their PBk6 oil paint Lamp Black, Ivory Black, Transparent Black, or Carbon Black.