Pigments

A pigment is a substance that has the capacity of colouring a certain carrier (cement, plaster, synthetic fibres, paint, …).

Contrary to dyes, pigments are insoluble. Therefore, pigments remain under the form of little grains and will just be dispersed in the carrier and so colouring the carrier.

The colouring capacity of the pigment depends on the fineness of the grains composing the pigment. In general we can say that the finer the grains are, the higher the colouring capacity of the pigment will be.

A pigment is only suitable for certain applications. The pigment shouldn’t react with the carrier. Moreover, the pigment shouldn’t oxidise under influence of oxygen in the air and shouldn’t loose its colour under influence of sunlight (UV). These provisions limit certain applications of pigments.  Even in some cases or applications, some concessions have to be made in order to attain a certain colour.