Holliday Pigments’ Technical Support Manager, Dave Masterman, has developed a bank of white papers exploring the pigment properties required for the company’s signature Ultramarine’s many and varied applications - each of which has its own particular demands.
Providing a historical backdrop ‘The Eternal Pigment’ (extract below) follows the path to discovery of the synthetic manufacture of Ultramarine Blue and is available to download in full from the ‘publications’ section on the company’s website ( www.holliday-pigments.com/publications).
Historical beginnings
When the ancient Egyptians came to decorate the works of art that they buried with their Pharaohs, they used a blue pigment of such brilliance that it would enhance the quality and value of any object. The pigment was derived from the semi precious mineral, Lapis Lazuli, and it continued to be used for many centuries.
The quality of the blue produced by this method was never in question. But the scarce availability and difficulty of extracting the pigment meant that the cost was high and the pigment could only be used in the most prestigious applications. It was clear that a rich prize awaited anyone who could devise a synthetic route to manufacture this pigment, which is now known as Ultramarine Blue.
Discovery of the synthetic process
The process for the synthetic manufacture of Ultramarine was discovered in 1828 by a French scientist, Guimet. Soon there were factories springing up all over Europe as the more affordable synthetic pigment stimulated the use of Ultramarine in many applications. Of particular note was the discovery that a small amount of Ultramarine would, if added to the rinse water during the laundering process, absorb the unwanted yellow undertone which became apparent as white clothing aged. This unwanted yellow caste was replaced by a blue undertone that suggested extra brightness and cleanliness. In fact it was for this purpose in 1884 that James Reckitt built an Ultramarine factory in Hull to extend his range of existing laundry products. This factory was still producing Ultramarine under the name of Holliday Pigments Limited up until 2007 and today the company remains one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of Ultramarine Blue.
Modern applications
While Ultramarine continued to be used both in artists’ colours and laundry products, it was the birth of the plastics industry which stimulated the development of the Ultramarine pigment that we know today. Ultramarine had been perfect for use in artists’ colours due to its unique shade with unrivalled brightness and its excellent lightfastness. It was non-toxic and non-irritant, perfect for an application like laundry with its inevitable skin contact. But add to these virtues its excellent heat stability, an obvious advantage in a high temperature application such as plastics, and it is no wonder that Ultramarine soon became regarded as an indispensable plastics and coatings colourant.
But how does Ultramarine come to possess such a combination of admirable properties? The answer is in its production process – which is itself a fascinating story….
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