is based on mica substrate, after fine classification using the specially designed grinding machine. The colorful effect depends on different metal oxides coated on the surface of classified mica flake substrate.

Pearl Pigment 100 is the most popular and widely using pearl pigment in market, during we use it, we found that different factory, has different color shade 100, some factories’s shade is bluewish, some factory’s shade is yellowish. Why this situation happen, and if it will influence the using ?

Let’s see the Structure and Color principle of Pearlescent Pigment

Pearlescent pigments are coated with mica particles and TiO2 and (or) other metal oxides. When white light irradiates the surface of these sheets, the light is reflected multiple times, showing a variety of bright and eye-catching interference colors. By controlling the thickness of TiO2 or metal oxide film, interference colors of different colors can be obtained.

So from Pearl Pigment’s color principle we can see that, For 100 which is bluewish, the coating time and layer is shorter and thicker than 100 yellowsish

From this shall we say 100 bluewish is not as good as 100 yellowish, No, for different application, the customer interesting color shade are not same.

During the market, we found that for paint customer, they are more like yellowish 100, but for printing ink and plastic customer, they more like bluewish 100.

From customer feedback ,for paint customer, they like the yellowish shinning effect, it will give products high end effect.

For printing and plastic customer, they like the bluewish effect, it will make the printing effect and master batch effect looks like more clean and new

Pearl pigment is widely used in the cosmetics, plastics,ink,leatheroid,leather,wall paper, porcelain enamel and pottery, buliding paint and other industries. And the main types are: natural scale pearl pigment, bismuth oxychloride crystal pearl pigment,mica covered pearl pigment, and mica covered pearl pigment is applied at large now.They are produced by covering the mica with titanium oxide, or ferric oxide or other metallic oxide. The range of mica is from 2µm to 700µm, and the deapth is 0.5µm.

The mica coated by metallic oxide is very velvet, so it has very nicer light reflecting and clarity clarity capability,which means that only part of light is reflected, and the transmission light penetrate the mica, reach another floor and can continue to be reflected, so form many relfection in many floors. It is difficult for us to focus on one floor, which establish the deapth of the light reflecting. Therefore we can see a kind of twinkling luster which is wonderful and deeply, and we call it “pearl luster”. The pearl luster will be different with the change of particle.

Particle: ＜15µm     clam pearl luster, best coverage

5--25µm     gentle pearl luster,best coverage

10--60µm    pearl luster,better coverage

10--100µm    twinkling pearl luster, normal coverage

20--200µm    high twinkling pearl luster, bad coverage

The effect of pearl luster is determined be the deapth of titanium oxide. Silver white pearl luster is formed by the thinest titanium oxide coating, and with the increasing of the deapth of titanium oxide, the luster of reflection will take on the luster of white、yellow、gold、red、purple、blue、green.

The coating of titanium oxide coating has the above function except the color itself. The color of bronze is formed by the reflection of the coating of titanium, and wine red and red-brown can be obtained using the same elements.

The color of the pearl pigment is affected by the base color. On the white base color,you can see the transmission color from every angle, while intervening color is very illdefined. If the base color is black or other dark base material , transmissing luster is absorbed by the base material, and the intervening color become intensity in the angle of reflection.

The pearl pigment reflects the luster according to the elements of mirron reflection, so the intervening color can be seen in the angle of relfection, while in the direction of angle of dispersion, complemantary color to intervening color can be seen,because light transmisses the thin coating of titanium oxide. For example, the intervening red pearl pigment, the red color can be seen in the surface of coating while green can be seen in the direction of angle of dispersion. And as for the white pearl piment, white color is obtained in the angle of reflection, while the color of base material or colorant will be seen in the angle of dispersion.

Pearl pigment know from other pigment in the capability that its color has third dimension and it has different color effect in different angles. The usual metal pigment,eg aluminum powder, is opaque.The light can be transmissed, and all the light is like mirror surface , is reflected in the surface, so it don’t has the capability third dimension which is formed in reflecting in many surface like pearl pigment. When some kind of extinctive pigment is added to the pearl pigment, due to pearl pigment is transparent,that allow light transmiss itself and reach the extinctive pigment, then is reflected again, so the color of the extinctive pigment is enhanced owning to this. If extinctive pigment is added to metal pigment, due to metal pigment is opaque itself, and light can transmiss it to reach the pigment, so the color is weakened. Eg the color of the extinctive pigment become gray due to the gray of aluminum itself, like slurry.

In figure and size metal pigment is similar to pearl pigment. According to the elements of mirror reflection,that is light rip into in the angle of 45 ⁰ ane then is reflected in the angle of 45 ⁰. The angle of incidence augments, however reflecting light will become weaker, and the color will become dull. When you observe the coating of metal pigment, the shade of color will have difference, and don’t have different color like pearl pigment.