{"id":2522,"date":"2026-10-30T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/?p=2522"},"modified":"2026-10-30T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T07:00:00","slug":"staedtler-mars-lumograph-100-versus-black-100b-read-the-family-before-the-grade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/2026\/10\/30\/staedtler-mars-lumograph-100-versus-black-100b-read-the-family-before-the-grade\/","title":{"rendered":"STAEDTLER Mars Lumograph 100 versus black 100B: read the family before the grade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Read \u201cMars Lumograph\u201d and the full family number before comparing a B grade.<\/strong> The ordinary 100 and black 100B are documented as different tonal choices, not the same pencil in differently coloured packaging.<\/p>\n

STAEDTLER’s international Lumograph 100 page<\/a> describes graphite with a subtle metallic lustre and a range from 12B to 10H. Its black 100B page<\/a> describes high carbon content for matte black tones and lists HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 7B and 8B. These are manufacturer descriptions, not comparative swatches produced by Olive Branch.<\/p>\n

A shared grade is only one field<\/h2>\n

If a tutorial asks for 4B, note which pencil family the artist actually used. A grade without that context does not establish an identical mark, surface appearance or response to erasing. Nor should the family label \u201c100B\u201d be confused with a hardness grade of \u201c100B.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Record on a sample<\/th>\nWhat it prevents<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
100 or black 100B<\/td>\nMixing the two documented formulations.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Exact grade<\/td>\nComparing unrelated degrees within a family.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paper and application<\/td>\nAttributing every visible difference to the pencil.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Viewing or photographing conditions<\/td>\nConfusing a lighting change with a new material result.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Choose around the finished drawing<\/h2>\n

Consider whether you want to explore graphite’s visible lustre or a more matte dark mark. If the work will be photographed, inspect a permitted sample under the intended lighting rather than relying on a single online product image. A matte positioning claim does not guarantee identical reproduction through every camera or screen.<\/p>\n

Our approach would be to compare a small number of useful grades on the paper already in use before buying a large assortment. Keep those labelled swatches; they are a clearer guide to the next purchase than remembering that one unlabelled pencil looked darker.<\/p>\n

Manufacturer pages checked 24 October 2026. No drawing, erasing, sharpening or reproduction test; no claim that the grades match across brands. Related: comparisons<\/a>.<\/small><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 100 and black 100B families use different documented tonal formulations. A shared 4B or 6B label does not make them the same drawing pencil.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":280506174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"The 100 and black 100B families use different documented tonal formulations. A shared 4B or 6B label does not make them the same drawing pencil.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Mars Lumograph 100 vs black 100B: family and grade","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1365,1364],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buying-guides","category-comparisons"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phlyx3-EG","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280506174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2883,"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522\/revisions\/2883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olivebranchubic.org\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}