Definition
The green color in plants, the red color of your shirt, the yellow paint of your living room, and the blue color of your car all have one element in common and that is pigment. Pigments are chemicals that add color to a material or object. Most pigments are dry colorants that usually ground into a fine powder. They are intensely colored and have two types that are very different from each other. Inorganic pigments and organic pigments.
Inorganic pigments
You can call this type, natural. They form in nature and have a very simple chemical structure. This type of pigments contain minerals and metals. These minerals and metals provide them their specific color. You should know that heavy metals are not getting used in this type of pigment because they are harmful to the environment and the human body. Inorganic pigments include white opaque pigments used to provide opacity and to make other colors look brighter. One of the most important components of inorganic pigments is titanium dioxide that is added to paints to reduce their cost and improve their qualities.
Organic pigments
As you might guess, this type is the opposite of inorganic pigments. They are not simple in structure and they are not common in nature. These are compounds including structures of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms joined that are formed in closed rings. Since there is more control over producing this type of pigment, they manage to be less of an environmental concern than inorganic pigments.
Applications
There are plenty of uses for pigments and we can find objects and materials that contain pigments all around us. Plastics industries, concrete and building industries, detergent industry and cosmetic industry, all are using pigments in various ways. Plastics industries benefit from pigments in the form of different masterbatches. These masterbatches easily can change the color of plastic products and even give it a strong and dense layer.
Pigments have a huge market in the cosmetic industry. They are used as coloring agents to produce numerous cosmetic products such as nail paints, lipsticks, eye makeup, and hair dyes. We know that pigments can provide a wide variety of colors. These pigments are easily dispersible and also provide flexibility and uniqueness in shades of color. Like other industries, cosmetic pigments can be categorized into organic and inorganic compounds.
Also, there is a high demand for pigments in concrete and building industries. Actually, the look and durability of construction materials are very important in this day and age. Every day we interact with objects that are made of pigments. For example, the pencils that we always use, are made of wood and graphite. By adding pigments to graphite we get all that different colors of pencils. So, not only there are different uses for pigments in various industries, but we use them directly to paint on the paper.
“Toseaye Pardis Sabz”, the supplier of organic and inorganic pigments, exports various types of pigments to many countries. These pigments undoubtedly are able to compete with their foreign equivalents and provide high-quality paints and layers that can be used in various industries.
Source: R & D Unit of Toseaye Pardis Sabz
