Product Code Database
A colourant/ colour additive (British spelling) or colorant/ color additive (American spelling) is a substance that is added or applied in order to change the colour of a material or surface. Colourants can be used for many purposes including printing, painting, and for colouring many types of materials such as food colouring and plastic colorant. Colourants work by absorbing varying amounts of light at different (or frequencies) of its visible spectrum, transmitting (if translucent) or reflecting the remaining light in straight lines or Light scattering.
Most colourants can be classified as or , or containing some combination of these. Typical dyes are formulated as solutions, while pigments are made up of solid particles suspended and are generally suspended in a vehicle (e.g., linseed oil). The colour a colourant imparts to a substance is mediated by other ingredients it is mixed with such as binders and fillers are added, for example in and . In addition, some colourants impart colour through reactions with other substances.
Colourants, or their constituent compounds, may be classified chemically as inorganic (often from a mineral source) and organic compound (often from a biological source).
|
|
