Manufacturing color
All the colors that we use in the form of paint or other equipment were originally made by the tribes from natural dyes found in the environment. They were masters at the art of dyeing, and even today, the dyes we use have their roots in their innovation. Today, we have access to a greater number of resources; including mineral rocks mined deep inside the earth and the production of synthetic dyes. Color manufacture today has become much more of chemical play, but in the past, these were some of the things our ancestors used to hand color down to us.Colors manufactured industrially have a variety of uses, and most of these colors are derived from pigments; organic, inorganic, metallic and natural:
- Organic pigments are not found naturally; instead, they have to be synthesized chemically. As the name suggests, these pigments contain hydrocarbons, with coal, tar and petroleum distillates forming the major raw materials. The color comes from the transformation of these substances into insoluble precipitates.
- Inorganic pigments are derived from minerals in the earth, with many of the number metallic oxides. Some of these have been banned because of their suspected toxicity, but a few of the traditional ones are:
- lead oxide
- cobalt blue
- chromium oxide
- cadmium yellow
- molybdate orange
- nickel titanate
- Metallic pigments technically fall under the inorganic category, but nowadays there are only two particular classes of metals used for these kinds of pigments; aluminium and zinc.
- Natural pigments are now rarely used, and all of them originate from the dyes used by our ancestors; derived by crushing leaves, petals, roots, berries, and whatever else that comes in handy!
Some colors are also derived from dyes, which are classified into natural or synthetic; organic or inorganic varieties.
Natural dyes are dyes we obtain from the natural environment; namely plants and animals. These dyes require mordents like iron or tin, or aluminium salts so that they can be applied to the substrate more readily. Some dyes, like indigo, are derived from plants. Other dyes are obtained from animal sources. The last category of natural dyes is derived from minerals found in the earth surface, such as ochre.
Synthetic dyes are made in factories or dyeing houses. These dyes are not found naturally, but most of them are manufactured organic compounds. Most of the colored substances you see around you use synthetic dyes, and today there are over 10,000 synthetic colors to choose from! The first synthetic dye was manufactured in 1771—picric acid. Most synthetic dyes are named according to their chemical structure; so dye names can act as indicators of the reagents used during manufacture. Most synthetic dyes are derived from aniline or; aniline being originally derived from coal tar. Chrome dyes are brighter and longer lasting; while aniline dyes fade quickly. Aniline dyes are organic compounds made chemically, with the dyes being classified according to brightness. Some dyes are also classified as non-ionic, catatonic and anionic. Azo dyes are anionic while methyl violet is an example of a catatonic dye. All non-ionic dyes are oil-soluble.
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