Samples of every batch are kept for up to 10 years. The pastel mix must match the standard exactly before it is passed to the extruding department.

The mix is fed into the extruder and forced by a ram through a round or square- Shaped die to form it into strips round for soft pastels, square for square pastels.

These are cut to length using a knife. Square pastels are stamped with the company name, colour and tint numbers. After drying, they are made up into sets, or packs for open stock.

Soft pastels, too fragile to withstand stamping, are individually wrapped in paper sleeves which are printed with the company name, colour and tint numbers.

The extra binding agent in square pastels, which makes them less fragile than soft pastels of the same tint, also hardens the mark on paper.

Daler-Rowney make 194 soft pastels and 48 square pastels, all produced by skilled technicians, backed by more than 150 years of experience and expertise.