ChE El 22 COLOR & PIGMENT

CAHILOG VILLANUEVA GOLDBERG MANALO PASCUA TORRELIZA

Basic Color Theory

Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design
applications. However, there are three basic categories of color theory that are logical
and useful : The color wheel, color harmony, and the context of how colors are used.

The Color Wheel

A color circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Sir
Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666.

• Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blue

In traditional color theory (used in paint and pigments), primary
colors are the 3 pigment colors that cannot be mixed or formed
by any combination of other colors.

• Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purple

These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.
 • Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-
purple, blue-green & yellow-green are the colors formed by
mixing a primary and a secondary color.

Color Harmony

Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it be music,

poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae.

In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages

the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience.

Some Formulae for Color Harmony

1. A color scheme based on analogous colors

2. A color scheme based on complementary colors

3. A color scheme based on nature

Color Context

How color behaves in relation to other colors and shapes is a complex area of
color theory.

Red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat duller
against the white background. In contrast with orange, the red appears lifeless; in
contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance. Notice that the red square appears larger
on black than on other background colors

HISTORY, DEFINITION, TYPES, & REQUIRED QUALITIES

HISTORY OF PIGMENTS
This story is about chance, experimentation and science. But most of all, it's about giving
humans a means to express themselves.

CREATIVITY BORN IN THE CAVES

It all started way back when cavemen once ruled the world.

These early men used pigments straight from earths' natural resources or so called
"Earth Pigments"

Earth pigments are yellow earth (ochre), red earth (ochre), carbon black (lamp) and white
chalk.

Ochre is a colored clay found as soft deposits within the earth.

While carbon black is collected from the soot of burning animal fats.
Early paintings that can show the use of earth pigments is at Lascaux, France.

These paintings are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old.

THE EGYPTIANS

To increase the strength and purity of earth pigments, these were cleaned and washed.

Minerals such as Malachite, Azurite and Cinnabar gave new pigments.

During 3000BC, the Egyptian Blue was first produced which is a blue glass from sand
and was ground into powder.
THE EGYPTIANS AND CHINESE

Dyes from vegetables were also developed by the Egyptians.

The 'lake' making process of producing pigments was also discovered by them.

In China, a brilliant red that came from Vermillion was developed 2000 years before it
was used by the Romans.

THE GREEK AND ROMANS

Cyrian Purple was also used by Greeks and Romans which signifies power and wealth.
The making involves using mucus from thousands of Murex snails.

The Greek manufactured white lead which is the first fully opaque white – namely "Flake
White" and "Cremnitz White".

This is made by stacking lead strips in a confined space amongst vinegar and animal
dung.

RENAISSANCE

Italians developed a range of earth pigments by roasting siennas and umbers to make the
deep rich red of Burnt Sienna and rich brown of Burnt Umber.

One of the most astonishing pigments came from the semi-precious stone Lapis Lazuli,
found in Afghanistan. This is used to produce Genuine Ultramarine.

MODERN TIMES

18th Century – opening up of trade 1828 - Isolation of Zinc gave rise to Zinc
routes with advances in technology and oxide which was used as an artists'
science for greater experimentation. white.

1704 – German color maker Diesbach 1834 – Winsor and Newton developed a
created Prussian Blue which is the first method of heating the oxide to increase
chemically synthesized color. its opacity and then called "Chinese
White".
1820 – USA eased the manufacture of
Chrome Yellow that is a highly opaque 19th Century – Alizarin is arguably the
low cost color. most important organic pigment. This is
synthetically duplicated in the lab in
1828 – a low cost blue was created by
Germany and Great Britain which
Jean-Baptiste Guimet called "French
provided a blue shade of crimson.
Ultramarine"
TYPES OF PIGMENTS
NATURAL INORGANIC PIGMENTS

Found in nature as minerals or earth and are then ground, sifted, washed, and sometimes
cooked/calcinated.

Termed as "Natural Mineral Pigment" when found as naturally occurring metallic salts,
such as azurite and malachite.

Also as "Earth Color" when they have significant quantities of clay and/or silica naturally
mixed into them.

An all plant-source pigments.

Natural organic pigments

include dyes that were
converted into dye-pigments
(lakes) and pigments made
from either animal or plant
sources.

SYNTHETIC INORGANIC
PIGMENTS

A synthetic version of a pigment

may be chemically identical to the natural form but is produced artificially rather than
naturally.

It may also be an entirely new pigment created from minerals.

An example would be the synthetic ultramarine blue made by combining silica, alumina,
soda and sulfur.

The synthetic organic pigments used in paints are "dye-pigments" or also known as
"lake".

A dye, as opposed to a pigment, is soluble in the medium in which it is applied, thus

making it impractical to make paint directly from a dye.

To regain control it is necessary to convert a dye into a pigment, which is insoluble in the
medium.
THREE MAJOR GROUPS

A. ANTHRAQUINONE - was developed during 1868 to understand the

coloring properties of madder root.

B. AZO – was the development of naphthol AS in 1912 that heralded the birth of stable
dye-pigments.

C. PHTHALOCYANINE – first discovered in 1907 and was rediscovered several times

after that until 1930s when it was developed for artists' use.

CHARACTERISTIC OF PIGMENTS
PERMANENCE

Permanence is the continued existence of the pigment.

The finest quality of pigment is synonymous with the highest degree of permanence.

Permanency ratings that have been in use for 75 years or more, can be safely relied
upon.

A more moderate testing procedure is proposed by the American Society for Testing and
Materials in D 4303-83, Standard Test Methods for Lightfastness of Pigments Used in
Artists’ Paints.

FACTORS INFLUENCING PERMANENCE

Weather Solvents

Ozone Detergents

Visible Light Humidity

Ultraviolet Light Air pollutants

Acid Temperature

Alkali Type of medium used

Water Mixed with other pigments

Oil Ground on which the pigment is applied

COMPATIBILITY

Pigments can react with one another to form new chemicals.

Chemical reactions can be avoided by not using incompatible pigments or by treating the
pigments so that they can be mixed together without reacting.

If all the pigment particles are coated they will not be able to come into contact with
one another and react.

It has been known for some time that the mixing of any color, particularly organic dye-
pigments with white, can result in either a bleaching effect to the color or a staining
effect to the white.

The incompatibility of unprotected pigments containing sulfur and unprotected

pigments containing lead is well known.

When unprotected, these mixtures will tend to blacken.

TOXICITY

All pigments, particularly in their dry, powdered form, should be regarded as hazardous
or potentially hazardous.

The toxicity rating also attempts to take into account the contamination of a pigment by
hazardous material.

The degree to which a pigment is toxic varies with the type of exposure.

TYPES OF EXPOSURE B. MODERATELY TOXIC – temporary to

permanent minor injury will result from a
A. SKIN – relatively nontoxic
small to moderate amount by a healthy
B. INGESTED – moderately toxic adult

C. INHALED – highly toxic C. SLIGHTLY TOXIC – temporary minor

injury will result from absorption of a
DEGREE OF TOXICITY small to moderate amount. Larger
A. HIGHLY TOXIC – serious injury or quantities could cause greater damage.
death will result from absorption of a D. NONTOXIC – no detectable injury will
small amount occur from absorption but it does
not mean it's safe or nonhazardous.
PURITY

The average level of purity is the industrial grade, which is not chemically pure.

LEVELS

A. INDUSTRIAL GRADE – not chemically pure

B. CHEMICALLY PURE – some trace levels of contaminates up to approximately 1

percent can still be found.

C. OTHER – grade used by the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD PIGMENT

 Pigment should have minimum  Pigment should have good wet,
particle sizes (0.2-0.4) light, and abrasion resistance.

 Pigment should have maximum  Pigment should have good

covering power. characteristics for excellent
dispersion including:
 Pigment should be chemically
inert.  Particle size and distribution

 Pigment should have good  Electrical charge

resistance to chemicals.
 Specific gravity
 Pigment should be resistant to
 Purity and crystalline structure
solvent.
 Condition of precipitation
 Pigment should have acceptable
brilliance, hardness and stability  Should be applied to all fiber
on dyed and printed goods
 Should be cheap
Even without a lot of painting experience, you can pick up many hints about a
pigment’s characteristics just by knowing whether it’s organic (mineral-based) or
inorganic (carbon-based).

Carbon-based pigments

Are a group of dark-colored materials that are classified according to the starting
material and the manufacturing process. They are composed by some form of
elemental carbon and four groups may be distinguished: graphite, flame carbons, chars,
and cokes [1–3].

Mineral-based Pigments

Naturally-occurring such as red ochre, yellow ochre, hematite, limonite, and

goethite are among the terms used to characterize these pigments. Simply put, most are
earthy mineral oxides of iron mixed with varying amounts of clay, sand, and water. Some
forms are soft and can be transformed into useful pigments easily.

Inorganic pigments usually, but not always, have these characteristics:

 heaviness in weight (because of  low tinting strength

the mineral content)
 mass tones that gray down when
 large particles mixed with white (creating more
natural light effects)
 good wetting properties (because
the particles don’t float)  light-to-dark shift within a family

 leanness (which gives their colors  high lightfast rating

a matte look)
Exceptions include Prussian blue and viridian—both are inorganic pigments that have
high tinting strengths and small particle sizes.

Organic pigments tend to have the following characteristics:

 lightness in weight (creating high  high tinting strength

volume)
 mass tones that create intense
 small particle size tints when mixed with white
(causing them to stay high key
 resistance to wetting (because
unless a complement is added,
the particles float and, therefore,
and creating less-natural light
need a dispersion agent)
effects)
 fatness (giving them a natural
 warm-to-cool shift within a family
gloss)
 good-to-excellent lightfast ratings
 transparency or semi-
transparency

Exceptions are some of the historic organic pigments—such as rose madder and
carmine—which have poor lightfast ratings and are prone to fading.
TESTS FOR PIGMENT
ISO 787-16:1986(en) - General methods of test for pigments and extenders

Extenders

 solid components of paint

 they are finely ground natural materials, most commonly earth, and they have no
effect on the colour of the paint, but they do alter some properties

 gives body to the paint, increases bulk in the coating.

Part 1 : Comparison of colour of pigments

Part 2 : Determination of matter volatile at

105 °C

Part 3 : Determination of matter soluble in water

- Hot extraction method

Part 4 : Determination of acidity or alkalinity of

the aqueous extract

Part 5 : Determination of oil absorption value

Part 7 : Determination of residue on sieve -

Water method - Manual procedure

Part 8 : Determination of matter soluble in water

- Cold extraction method

Part 9 : Determination of pH value of an aqueous

suspension

Part 10 : Determination of density - Pyknometer

method

Part 11 : Determination of tamped volume and

apparent density after tamping

Part 13 : Determination of water-soluble

sulphates, chlorides and nitrates
Part 14 : Determination of resistivity of aqueous
extract

Part 15 : Comparison of resistance to light of

coloured pigments of similar types

Part 16 : Determination of relative tinting strength

(or equivalent colouring value) and colour
on reduction of coloured pigments – Visual
comparison method

Part 17 : Comparison of lightening power of white

pigments

Part 18 : Determination of residue on sieve -

Mechanical flushing procedure

Part 19 : Determination of water-soluble nitrates -

Salicylic acid method

Part 20 : Comparison of ease of dispersion -

Oscillatory shaking method

Part 21 : Comparison of heat stability of pigments

using a stoving medium

Part 22 : Comparison of resistance to bleeding of

pigments

Part 23 : Determination of density (using a

centrifuge to remove entrained air)

Part 24 : Determination of relative tinting strength

of coloured pigments and

Color Stability of the Pigment when Combined with its Binder

The sample should be hung on the studio wall in strong light [south light if
possible] and observed periodically at intervals of a month or more. Some of the same
paint should be kept in reserve in the tube and at a later date, when a comparison is to
be made, should be painted on an identical ground. After drying well [about one week] it
can be compared with the test sample and any darkening or fading noted.

The paint should be tested for its color stability when it is mixed with white. One
volume of the paint being tested should be mixed with 20 volumes of zinc white paint
and applied to two test panels. After they have dried, one sample should be exposed to
a window facing south so as to receive strong sunlight for several months. Half of the
panel should be covered tightly with cardboard or stiff paper backed with aluminum foil
to exclude light, while the other half should be exposed to the sun. The second panel
should be kept inside the room, away from direct sunlight, as a control. After several
months the samples can be compared to see if the exposed section of the panel in the
window has altered in comparison to either the shielded section or to the panel kept in
diffused light.

Fading or Color Change Caused by Action of Light

When this sample is thoroughly dry, cut it in two and place one of the halves on a
window sill or wall where it will be in strong light. The other half should be placed in an
envelope in a drawer where it will remain in the dark. After two months, compare the
two samples. If there is no apparent color difference, the pigment can be assumed to be
reasonably light-proof.

Since in most painting procedures the pigment frequently will be diluted with
white, test samples of the pigment mixed with a substantial amount of zinc white
pigment [e.g., 1 part of color to 20 parts by volume of zinc white] should also be made.
There are pigments that fade considerably when diluted, although they are light-fast
when used full strength.

Flexibility and Film-forming Properties of a Pigment or Paint

The character of a film formed by a given pigment can be compared to some

extent with that of other pigments by painting samples of each on swatches of good-
quality primed canvas. After these have dried well for a few months, a simple scratch
test will often show the difference between an extremely soft or crumbly film and a
tough durable one. Flexibility may be roughly evaluated by rolling the two dried samples
over cylinders, or between the fingers, and noting the speed of cracking and the
character of the crack. Although such tests sound extremely primitive, they are
sufficiently sensitive to indicate to a knowledgeable painter at least the extremes in
differences of quality.
Bleeding

Place one-half teaspoonful of dry pigment in a jar or test tube with a few ounces
of turpentine. Shake well for a few minutes. Then allow the colored mixture to stand
quietly for half an hour. If the pigment is not soluble in turpentine, the pigment and
liquid should separate from each other, leaving the liquid clear. If it remains discolored
by the pigment, this is evidence of the pigment's solubility in turpentine. The test may be
carried out in the same fashion with oils, alcohol, or water to determine the solubility of
the pigment in each. It can be assumed that a pigment will bleed or migrate when it is
employed in a technique that uses a liquid in which the pigment is soluble.

SURFACE COATINGS
PAINTS LACQUERS AND VARNISHES

-pigmented -clear films

(have color)

Paints = Varnishes + Pigments

Paints as opposed to Dyes

Pigments Dyes

-finely ground crystalline solids -dissolved (soluble)

dispersed in the paint -dissolved in a medium

-dispersed (insoluble) to create a coloring agent or solution

Natural Pigments vs. Synthetic Pigments

-chlorophyll in leaves

-carotene in carrots

-lycopene in tomatoes

-melanin in our skin

Manufacturing Process

-oxidation of Ti to form TiO2

-reacting Ba(NO3)2 with H2SO4 to form

BaSO4

Which is better, natural or synthetic?

The best choice is not going for natural or

synthetic per se, but going for what has fewer
harmful impacts on humanity and the
environment.

But in our perspective as chemical

engineers, we should be pro-synthetic.

TRIVIA
 Red is the first color a baby sees. Recent
studies have shown that infants as young as 2 weeks of age can already distinguish
the color red. Probably because red has the longest wavelength among colors making
it the easiest color to process by the developing receptors and nerves in the baby’s
eyes.
 Colors don’t exist! They’re all in your head. Technically, colors are just results when
our brains try to make sense of signals it receives from the outside. Can you imagine
if our brains are not functioning that way? Chances are, our world would probably
look like a scene from The Matrix. So hooray for brains!
 “Bulls hate red” is a total myth. It
is not the color of the muleta that
makes the bull go charging but
the movement of it. In fact, bulls
don’t seem to have any color
preference at all. Any moving
object—regardless of its color—is
a likely target for them.
 Yellow + Red = Hunger.
Researchers says that red and
yellow are the most appetizing
colors. Having said that, they
advice not to paint your kitchen
yellow if you’re on a diet. You’ll
just end up frustrating yourself
after giving in to the temptation.
On the other hand, the color blue
is the least appetizing color.
 Do you know what
the major difference
between tint and shade is?
Tint of a color is made
adding white to the base
color. Shade of a color is
made adding black to the
base color
 There is a unique
disease called
chromatophobia, which
means the fear of colors.