BEHIND THE BRAND:
DERWENT

We visited the Derwent factory to learn how their products are made and met the skilled team who produce them. The factory is now located in Workington, a short distance from Keswick. The relocation to a vast, super-efficient modern space was designed to assimilate their expanded product range, a more eco-friendly production process, and cope with the company’s ever-growing popularity with artists around the world. The aircraft hangar-style premises comprise busy administrative offices, a state-of-the-art laboratory, and at its beating heart, the expansive production area.

Entering from the reception area, a small entrance does not prepare you for the high halls of the industrious factory floor. Along with the sound of machines and staff busy at work comes an aroma not dissimilar to a bakery. As we made our way to the first stage of production, we passed the packing area where forklift trucks load and unload finished products from and onto banks of metal shelving units that reach into the rafters.

Each product goes through a sequence of stages before it finally arrives in the packing area. The first is to prepare the correct mix, whether it be adding clays to pure graphite, pigments and waxes for colour leads, or pigments and binders for paint pans. An expert colour mixer consults a recipe form, known as a ‘works order’. This form lists the correct ratio of each part. A scoop is used to attain the right weight and proportion of the separate ingredients as they are tipped into a paper sack.

Once this batch preparation is complete, the sack is taken to a bank of mixing machines. A particular machine will be selected based on the colour to be mixed. This avoids contamination of colours, so yellows are not mixed in the same machine as blues, for example. The mix is poured into the machine, and water is added to make a paste. 

The machine churns and heats the paste to achieve the right moisture content, a crucial factor that allows for the manipulation and crafting of a particular range. The person who is mixing will check the moisture content on a moisture balance. They will also check the colour using what are known as ‘standards’ – archived examples of the original product, some of which date as far back as the 1930s when they were first conceived.

With the colour mix completed, it can go one of two ways, depending on the type of product. Mixes intended for pencils are put through a Loader. This machine begins the process of turning the mix into the ‘strips’ that form the colour core of a Derwent pencil. It does this by compressing the mix together and using a vacuum system, removing any pockets of air and then squeezing out large rolls of pigment called billets.

The billets are loaded into the Press. The Press can be fitted with dies of varying diameters appropriate to the product being produced. Thus, the larger core of a Coloursoft pencil will require a larger diameter of strip compared to the slimmer core of a Chromaflow pencil. The machine pushes out the strips and cuts them at the same time.

These are loaded into Rolling Cans, which continuously roll the strips. This rolling motion ensures they remain straight and prevents warping. The strips are then placed in an oven and kept turning while they are baked for between two and four hours, until fully dry. Once again, they are checked for the correct moisture content once they have left the oven.

In the case of graphite products, such as the iconic Graphic range, they are placed in a furnace overnight at up to 1000 degrees centigrade. The ball clay used in graphite products is crucially altered by the intense heat, giving it its key writing properties. 

Another route is taken by more painterly products, including Inktense blocks and paint pans, once the colour mix has passed through the same billeting stage. Before the billets are pressed, an imprint template must be selected, which embosses the batch with the appropriate branding and relevant product information. These products are baked overnight to attain the correct moisture content (below 0.5% as a rule) before being sent for packing via quality control.

With the exception of pastel and charcoal pencils, which are now ready for Woodwork, all other pencil strips are loaded into tins for wax preparation. The strips are marinated in vats of wax for between two and 24 hours. There are different types of waxes used for different ranges, including watersoluble, soft, and hard waxes. The waxing process gives the strips their unique texture, integrity, and character.

If a strip has not absorbed the required amount of wax, it will reveal a ring in the centre. Once this is checked, the tins are loaded into a centrifuge, which, as it spins, removes any excess wax solution. At this stage, samples are sent to the laboratory where checks are performed for diameter, breaking strain, and texture, as well as colour and degree grade integrity.

The Derwent professional range of pencils is made using Californian cedar wood. Its qualities, including the lack of knots and the ease with which it sharpens, make it the perfect wood for the crafting of artists’ pencils. The cedar wood comes in slats, thin strips of wood which are sent through a Grooving Machine. This applies eight or nine grooves to each slat. A special, customised PVA glue is applied, and the slats are then sandwiched together with the pencil strips inside. These are then sent along a conveyor belt to the Clamping Machine, which firmly compresses them together.

The glued slats are now ready for shaping, where they will either be cut into a round or hexagonal shape. A machine planes the slats one side at a time into the desired shape. The sawdust created from the woodworking phase is not discarded. Rather, it is gathered together and recycled as an energy source to heat the factory. Astonishingly, this provides two-thirds of the factory’s heating in winter and all of it in summer.

Now that the pencils have been cut to shape, the barrels are ready for painting. A Works Order specifies the appropriate branding colour mix, which is made using colour chips in lacquer to achieve a durable paint. A colour match is sent to the laboratory for approval before the full batch is painted.

The barrels are placed in a Hopper, which pushes them through cylinders where the pre-mixed lacquer is applied. Each coat is deliberately thin to achieve a smooth finish, and a long conveyor belt allows for drying between each of the four coats of lacquer needed.

Each pencil must now be vat-dipped with two-colour end-tips applied at a slant – the slant being a signature of the Derwent brand. The first colour denotes a particular range, while the second indicates the pencil’s colour.

Pencils are loaded onto angled dipping boards and queued for the Dipping Machine. The machine slowly lowers the tips into the dipping lacquer to avoid any sloshing or waves, left submerged for a short time, and lifted out again. Once the second colour band has been applied in the same way, the racked-up pencils are rolled into a Hot Box (a large metal cupboard), which fully dries the lacquer.

This is the area where staff box, shrink wrap, and label all the products before they make their way across the world. All the machines mentioned previously are carefully manned and monitored by specialised staff, and it was good to discover that the packing department is the same, with minimal reliance on automation. Derwent describe this as a further extension of their quality control and a testament to the attentiveness and diligence of their packing team.

When assembling a set of colour pencils, for example, each team member is assigned six or more colours from the set’s sequence of colours. The team works in tandem, hand-loading their quota as each tin passes along a conveyor belt, picking the pencils from an angled shelf in front of them. The bank of shelves and conveyor belt is in a horseshoe shape, allowing up to 12 people to work in this way.

Derwent’s production of artists’ pencils, drawing tools, and a broad range of accessories is all monitored via an in-house laboratory, whether that be testing the lightfastness of pigments, checking the integrity of pencil cores, or developing new products. Derwent are constantly innovating, and this is where the magic happens and new ideas are born.

We left the Derwent factory with a greater insight into the company’s crucial role in how this deceptively simple but essential artist’s tool has been crafted and improved over the centuries. We headed out along the beautiful banks of Derwentwater in search of the old Seathwaite mines, where it all began, all those years ago.   

Derwent Lightfast Pencils are 100% lightfast, ensuring colours won’t fade for 100 years under museum conditions. Their oil-based core offers a buttery texture, rich colour laydown, smooth blending, and strong points for detail and layering.

Crafted with fine quality graphite for smooth, erasable lines and lasting lightfastness. Graphic Pencils are available in 24 degrees from 9H to 13B, ideal for sketching, portraits, and detailed drawings, with a strong core that sharpens well and holds a precise point.

Derwent Chromaflow Pencils are richly pigmented for vivid, striking colour, even on dark paper. The soft, slimline core delivers smooth laydown, easy layering, and seamless blending. Perfect for bold, expressive, and vibrant artwork.

Procolour Pencils combine strength and smoothness for effortless blending and rich colour. The wax core glides like oil, producing clean, smudge-free results with minimal dusting. Highly pigmented, they retain a sharp point for precise, professional quality detail.

Derwent Pastel Pencils have a soft, chalky texture for smooth blending and rich colour. With minimal dusting and a fine point for detail, they’re ideal for layering, shading, and expressive drawings. Use dry or add water for subtle washes and effects.

Combining the control of a pencil with the delicate beauty of watercolour, Derwent Watercolour Pencils can be used wet or dry for subtle colour flows, smooth blending, and easy layering. Once dry, colours can be re-wet, making them perfect for expressive mixed-media work.

The Inktense range offers pencils for fine detail, blocks for expressive strokes, XL blocks for bold marks, and paints for vivid washes. Colours transform with water for vibrant, ink-like effects and can be layered without dissolving, allowing dynamic, translucent colour artwork.

Graphitint Pencils combine graphite with subtle colour for a unique watersoluble blend. Used dry, they give a soft tint, while adding water reveals rich, shimmering tones with a graphite sheen. Ideal for mixed media, layering, and creating atmospheric, muted effects.