Pigment
**Economic Impact of Pigments:**
– Around 7.4 million tons of pigments were marketed worldwide in 2006.
– The global pigment industry is valued at $30 billion.
– Titanium dioxide, used for white brightness enhancement, is valued at $13.2 billion annually.
– Ferrari red pigment is valued at $300 million yearly.
**Historical Significance of Pigments:**
– Minerals have been used as colorants since prehistoric times.
– Lapis lazuli was a favored blue pigment.
– Charcoal has been used as a black pigment since ancient times.
– Egyptian blue was the first known synthetic pigment.
– Synthetic pigments like vermilion and Indian yellow have historical significance.
**Manufacturing and Standards in Pigment Industry:**
– Before synthetic pigments, color consistency was a challenge.
– The Munsell color system describes color in three dimensions.
– Standardized methods for pigment chemistry were established in the mid-20th century.
– The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops technical standards for pigments.
– ISO standards cover general methods of testing pigments and specific categories like ultramarine and titanium dioxide.
**Chemical Composition and Properties of Pigments:**
– Pigments absorb specific wavelengths of light.
– The bonding properties of pigments determine their color.
– Pigments reflect or scatter light of other wavelengths.
– Appearance of pigments depends on the light source.
– Substances like binders and fillers can affect the color of pigments.
– Factors like lightfastness, heat stability, toxicity, tinting strength, and staining are crucial properties of pigments.
**Color Communication and Swatches:**
– Swatches are used to communicate colors accurately in various media.
– Printed swatches like PANTONE, RAL, and Munsell are widely used standards for color communication.
– Plastic swatches offer special effects like pearl, metallic, and fluorescent for plastics.
– Computer swatches face challenges in replicating pigment appearance accurately.
– Biological pigments in plant or animal cells serve various biological purposes and differ from structural color.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigment