Application of Dyes and Pigments

Dyes—coloring materials that are applied as a solution and cling to whatever they are applied to (e.g., textiles, hair, wood, food)—can be used for decorative, aesthetic, and artistic purposes. They can also be used as identifiers, like the purple dye that some countries use to mark voters' fingers during an election or the wool dyes that sheep herders use to mark the sheep in their flocks. Fluorescent brightening dyes improve the appearance of textiles and paper. Contrast agents and fluorescent dyes make selected cells and organs stand out for biological and medical imaging. Dye-based lasers are not only powerful, but they also emit laser light over a range of wavelengths, producing "tunable" laser beams for manufacturing, medical applications, astronomical research, and spectroscopy. Dye laser beams can even be used to vaporize tattoo inks.



Pigments are used for artists' paints, car finishes, and light-reflecting signs. They are insoluble materials that have to be mixed with binders or vehicles to attach them to a substrate. Pigments are often derived from minerals, but they can also be made synthetically. Pigments are used in paints, inks, plastics, fabrics, cosmetics, and food, to name a few examples. They are often better than dyes at keeping their color for many centuries and for withstanding high heat, intense light, and exposure to weather or chemical agents.
Today the role and application of pigments have increased manifolds. There would hardly be any industries left where Pigments do not play any substantial role. The challenge is now to discover pigments that are capable of not only long-lasting applications but also are environmentally safe.

A few of the important applications of Pigments is given below.

Paints- A diversified application in the whole gamut of paints that include decorative and protective coatings, in paints that are oil and resin based, automotive finishes, emulsion paints, distempers, aqueous based paints like lime etc.

Printing inks- Pigments are used in all kinds of printing inks, that includes inks for printing metal foils, lacquers etc.



Pigment finishes for leather and textiles: Coloration application for popular textiles such as polyesters, nylon etc.

Colouration of Plastics- Pigments are used in host of plastic applications that includes poly vinyl chloride(PVC), rubber and synthetic polymers, urea-formaldehyde(U-F) and melamine-formaldehyde moulding powders polystyrene, nylons, polyfins, phenol-formaldehyde(P-F), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resins (ABS).

Colouratuon of cement glass paints

Colours for cosmetics


Colouration for papers

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Organic pigments for printing inks | Pigments for printing inks | dyes pigments and inks | classification of pigments | application of pigments
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