Cranfield
Cranfield is a UK-based manufacturer and retailer of Spectrum artists paints and Caligo printmaking inks, founded in 1976 in Wales, serving the fine-art and craft supplies market.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersWales, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cranfield does
Cranfield is a privately held, for-profit UK manufacturer and retailer of specialty artists' colorants, founded in 1976 and based in Wales. According to the firmographic record, the company produces and sells Spectrum artists paints and Caligo printmaking inks, serving the fine-art and craft supplies market. Its product range is focused on professional and hobbyist-grade paints and inks rather than broader art supplies, positioning the firm as a specialist within the UK and likely international art-materials channel.
Operationally, Cranfield is a small organization, with a reported headcount of 11–50 employees, consistent with a niche, craft-oriented manufacturer. The firm operates from a single Wales location, with its web presence at cranfield-colours.co.uk. Leadership is anchored by Managing Director Michael Craine. No information is available on production volumes, distribution arrangements, pricing structure, sales channels, or export markets, and the publicly visible portion of the firm's web infrastructure in the source data corresponds to a generic network-device login page rather than a customer-facing commerce platform.
The business model is implicitly B2B/B2C specialty manufacturing and retail: producing branded colorants (Spectrum, Caligo) and selling them through art-supply distribution. However, no pricing, customer-segment, or revenue figures are disclosed in the source material, and the available technology and product data are not representative of the company's actual operations — the scraped page belongs to a third-party router vendor. Consequently, financial scale, growth dynamics, and competitive positioning can only be characterized in qualitative terms from the firmographic data.
Cranfield firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cranfield
- Legal name
- DrayTek Corp
- Website
- https://cranfield-colours.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cranfield is a UK-based manufacturer and retailer of Spectrum artists paints and Caligo printmaking inks, founded in 1976 in Wales, serving the fine-art and craft supplies market.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cranfield industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fine Art Materials
- NAICS
- Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510), Printing Ink Manufacturing (32591), Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513)
- SIC
- Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fine Art Materials Retail (Paint, Canvas, Drawing) (CRALACAB)
Keywords
Where Cranfield is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wales
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Cranfield business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations
Cranfield product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cranfield manufactures and retails Spectrum artists paints, Caligo printmaking inks, and colors for use by artists and printmakers. The company has been producing fine art materials since 1976, operating from Wales in the United Kingdom.
Product overview
The source data contains a DrayTek Corp Vigor Router login page (https://cranfield-colours.co.uk/weblogin.htm). No products, services, or offerings related to a company named Cranfield were found in the provided source material.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Spectrum Artists Paints
- Caligo Printmaking Inks
- Cranfield Colors
Companies that use Cranfield
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
Cranfield technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Cranfield partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves3 records
Cranfield competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Daniel Smith: US-based manufacturer of premium watercolor paints and printmaking inks with strong artist endorsement. Comparable to Cranfield in specialty positioning and emphasis on pigment quality, though primarily US-distributed.
- Speedball Art Products: US manufacturer specializing in printmaking inks and related supplies, directly comparable to Cranfield's Caligo printmaking line in terms of use case (relief and intaglio printmaking) and target buyer (artists and educators).
- Golden Artist Colors: US-based specialty manufacturer of professional acrylic paints and mediums with a strong artist-educator channel. Comparable to Cranfield in its niche, quality-led positioning within fine art materials manufacturing.
- Lefranc & Bourgeois: Historic French maker of fine art paints, inks, and printmaking supplies. Directly comparable in product category (artists' colors and printmaking inks) and in serving traditional fine art markets across Europe.
- Schmincke: German premium manufacturer of artists' paints and printmaking inks with a strong reputation among professional artists. Directly competes in the high-end artist paint segment served by Cranfield's Spectrum range.
- Daler-Rowney: UK-based manufacturer and retailer of fine art paints, inks, brushes, and papers. Closely comparable to Cranfield in product breadth (watercolor, oil, acrylic, printmaking inks), geography (UK heritage), and go-to-market (specialty art retail), making it the most direct UK peer.
- Holbein Artist Materials: Japanese manufacturer of professional artists' paints, inks, and gouache. Comparable to Cranfield in offering specialty pigment-rich formulations and in targeting professional and serious hobbyist artists.
- Winsor & Newton: One of the most recognized global manufacturers of artists' paints, inks, and mediums, directly comparable to Cranfield's Spectrum and Caligo product lines in terms of target customer (professional and hobbyist artists) and channel (art supply retail and direct). Winsor & Newton is a much larger incumbent in the same specialty category.
Broad incumbents
- Royal Talens: Dutch owner of multiple artist paint brands (Rembrandt, Talens, Amsterdam) and a broader craft/stationery portfolio. Comparable to Cranfield through overlapping fine art paint manufacturing, but operates at much greater scale and across many categories.
Emerging players
- Pebeo: French manufacturer of artist paints, inks, and creative craft products including printmaking-adjacent ranges. Comparable to Cranfield in overlapping product categories (artist colors, inks) and channel presence in European art supply retail.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Cranfield financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cranfield leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Cranfield funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cranfield M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cranfield
What does Cranfield do?
Cranfield manufactures and retails Spectrum artists paints, Caligo printmaking inks, and colors for use by artists and printmakers. The company has been producing fine art materials since 1976, operating from Wales in the United Kingdom.
When was Cranfield founded?
Cranfield was founded in 1976. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cranfield based?
Cranfield is headquartered in Wales, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Cranfield's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Daniel Smith, Speedball Art Products, Golden Artist Colors, Lefranc & Bourgeois, Schmincke, Daler-Rowney, Holbein Artist Materials and Winsor & Newton. Royal Talens is listed as a broad incumbent. Pebeo is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cranfield have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cranfield.
What industry is Cranfield in?
Cranfield's product category is Fine Art Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALACAB, Fine Art Materials Retail (Paint, Canvas, Drawing). Its NAICS code is 325510 and its SIC code is 3950.