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pigmented colorants: dependence on media and time - Cornell ...

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Figure 2.9: Pictomicrographs of pigments Egyptian blue, Malachite, <strong>and</strong><br />

Vermili<strong>on</strong>. Adapted from [Weh75].<br />

Pigment Volumetric C<strong>on</strong>centrati<strong>on</strong> (PVC):<br />

PVC =<br />

Pigment Volume<br />

(Pigment + Filler + Binder) Volume<br />

Further, color is meaningless without l<strong>on</strong>gevity. Thus, another important pig-<br />

ment attribute is lightfastness, the ability of the pigment to retain its color un-<br />

changed under prol<strong>on</strong>ged exposure to normal c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s of light. This attribute is<br />

fundamentally determined by molecular structure, as some molecules degrade or<br />

change in c<strong>on</strong>tinuous presence of light. Permanence refers to a pigment’s chemical<br />

stability to any envir<strong>on</strong>mental factor, including light, heat, heat, water, acids, al-<br />

kalis, or mold. For example, ultramarine blue in extremely lightfast, but will fade<br />

<strong>on</strong> exposure to acids (possibly existing in the support or the air) [Mac05]. These<br />

effects are not uniform across all pigments. The most permanent of pigments are<br />

inorganic synthetics, <strong>and</strong> of those that deteriorate, the fastest fading materials are<br />

organic. Inorganic pigments that do change, however, do not fade but gray or<br />

darken.<br />

While is may seem obvious that artists’ paint dem<strong>and</strong>s pigments which resist<br />

marked change, independent testing <strong>and</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ardized labeling in the USA has <strong>on</strong>ly<br />

21

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