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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Term: Pigment

Pigments are solids that are ground into an insoluble powder and used to give color to paint and other products. Some paints contain dyes instead of or in combination with pigments, but the term "pigment" is used generally to refer to the colorful content in paint. Pigments can be made from natural and synthetic materials. Natural pigments include clays, minerals, silicas, and talcs. Synthetic pigments are man-made substances that are created using a variety of chemical processes.

Some pigments used in older paints are toxic, such as cadmium, cobalt, and zinc. Paints with the word "hue" at the end of their names use non-toxic substitutes in place of the original pigments. For instance, Cadmium Yellow Hue contains no cadmium but is usually a blend of Arylide Yellow G and Arylide Yellow 10G.

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