Red has historically held a powerful position across art and industry, serving as a symbol of vitality, importance, and luxury. The oldest known red pigment is the natural earth pigment Red Ochre , found extensively in prehistoric cave paintings. In ancient times, the brilliant, toxic mineral Cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) was highly prized for its vivid vermilion hue. Another historically significant source was Carmine , a vivid crimson colorant extracted from the crushed bodies of the cochineal insect, which dominated textile dyeing for centuries. The 19th century marked a pivotal transition with the introduction of synthetic organic colors, such as Alizarin , the first natural dye to be synthesized chemically. Today, the pigment industry relies on a vast array of high-performance synthetic organic reds, including Naphthol reds, Benzimidazolone reds, Quinacridone reds, and DPP (Diketopyrrolopyrrole) reds, alongside stable inorganic alternatives like iron oxides. These modern pigments provide exceptional color brilliance, durability, and safety profiles, paving the way for their widespread use in contemporary automotive finishes, high-quality printing, and durable industrial coatings.
Pigment Red 2
Colour Description: Strong bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 2 belongs to the Naphthol family of monoazo pigments. It is characterized by its strong, bluish-red shade and good tinting strength. It is primarily used in industrial paints, water-based inks, and textile printing applications. While it offers good economic efficiency, its lightfastness is generally considered moderate, which makes it more suitable for indoor applications or lower-stress outdoor environments.
Pigment Red 3
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 3 is a classic azo pigment that delivers a bright, warm yellowish-red hue. It has historically been utilized in automotive refinish paints and general industrial coatings due to its good hiding power and strong color development. However, its heat resistance is somewhat limited, and it tends to sublime or degrade when exposed to high temperatures during polymer processing, thus restricting its use in molded plastics.
Pigment Red 4
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 4 is a monoazo pigment known for producing a bright, opaque yellowish-red shade. It demonstrates strong tinting strength, making it a cost-efficient choice for printing inks and industrial coatings. Despite its vibrant appearance, its lightfastness is limited; under prolonged sunlight exposure, it tends to fade or darken, making it mostly suitable for indoor use or applications protected by clear topcoats.
Pigment Red 8
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 8 is a member of the Naphthol pigment class, which provides a clean yellowish-red shade with good printability. It is widely used in the production of solvent-based printing inks and industrial paints. While it possesses relatively high tinting strength, its resistance to light and strong solvents is moderate, limiting its use in high-durability automotive applications.
Pigment Red 21
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 21 is another Naphthol based pigment offering a bluish-red color shade. It is often used in combination with other pigments to achieve specific color nuances in industrial paints and aqueous dispersions. Its overall weatherfastness is moderate, and it is typically not recommended for long-term outdoor exposure where maximum color retention is required.
Pigment Red 22
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 22 provides a bright, clean yellowish-red shade and is commonly employed in inks, paints, and plastics. It features good tinting strength and solvent resistance. However, its lightfastness is generally rated as average, meaning it is a practical choice for indoor coatings and colored plastics that are not subjected to intense, prolonged ultraviolet radiation.
Pigment Red 31
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 31 is classified as a monoazo lake pigment . Because it is precipitated on an insoluble inorganic base, it offers excellent opacity and high hiding power. It delivers a distinct bluish-red hue and is typically utilized in offset printing inks, lacquers, and water-based industrial paints where coverage is a primary concern.
Pigment Red 48:1
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 48:1 is a metal lake pigment, specifically a calcium salt of a monoazo dye. This unique chemical structure provides a bright, opaque bluish-red with high tinting strength. It is heavily utilized in printing inks and industrial paints, offering good solvent resistance. However, its lightfastness is moderate, and it is used primarily for applications where durable outdoor performance is not the highest priority.
Pigment Red 48:2
Colour Description: Strong bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 48:2 is the manganese salt variation of the azo lake pigment family. It exhibits an intense bluish-red shade and exceptional opacity. Compared to the calcium salt version (PR 48:1), it often displays improved chemical stability and heat resistance. It is frequently used in the formulation of high-quality printing inks and plastics requiring good migration resistance.
Pigment Red 48:3
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 48:3 is the strontium salt of the azo lake pigment series. It produces a bluish-red shade with high opacity and strong tinting strength. Due to its specific metal complex structure, it provides distinct solvent stability characteristics. It finds common use in printing inks, particularly in offset and solvent-based applications, and general industrial paints.
Pigment Red 48:4
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 48:4 is the barium salt form of this azo lake pigment. It yields a bright, opaque bluish-red color with powerful tinting strength. This pigment is often chosen for solvent-based printing inks and industrial coatings where its specific shade and high coverage are advantageous. Its heat stability is considered average compared to higher-performing organic reds.
Pigment Red 49:1
Colour Description: Yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 49:1 is a barium salt lake pigment based on a monoazo dye. It is well known for its strong yellowish-red shade and excellent hiding power. Its cost-effectiveness and opacity make it a popular choice for general-purpose printing inks, cheap industrial paints, and paper coatings, although its lightfastness is relatively limited.
Pigment Red 53:1
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 53:1, also commonly known as Red Lake C, is a barium lake pigment . It provides a bright, yellowish-red, opaque shade with exceptionally high tinting strength. It is one of the most widely used pigments in printing inks, especially for packaging and graphic arts. While it offers great value and coverage, its resistance to light is low and is generally reserved for indoor applications.
Pigment Red 57:1
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 57:1 is a calcium lake pigment known for its strong, bright bluish-red color. It offers excellent tinting strength and is extensively used in the printing ink industry, especially for producing high-quality magenta hues in four-color printing. It possesses moderate solvent resistance and is generally not recommended for outdoor uses requiring high lightfastness.
Pigment Red 63:1
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 63:1 is a calcium lake pigment that delivers a clean, bluish-red shade. It is frequently applied in printing inks and leather coatings due to its strong hiding power and good economic value. Its durability under outdoor sunlight is limited; therefore, it is predominantly utilized in indoor coatings, packaging, and specialty paper applications.
Pigment Red 81
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red to magenta.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 81 is a basic dye lake pigment , derived from Rhodamine dyes. It provides an exceptionally vibrant, intense bluish-red or magenta shade, superior to most simple azo lakes. Due to its striking colorfulness, it is widely used in printing inks, ballpoint pens, and markers. However, its lightfastness is very poor, making it strictly suitable for applications where long-term sunlight exposure is not expected.
Pigment Red 112
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 112 is a high-performance Naphthol red pigment. It offers a clean, bright yellowish-red hue with high tinting strength. Unlike standard azo reds, PR 112 provides substantially improved lightfastness and weathering resistance. Because of these properties, it is frequently used in high-quality outdoor industrial paints, automotive refinish coatings, and durable printing inks.
Pigment Red 122
Colour Description: Brilliant bluish-red to magenta.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 122 belongs to the high-performance Quinacridone pigment class. It is renowned for its exceptionally brilliant, clean bluish-red or magenta shade, coupled with outstanding lightfastness and weather durability. PR 122 is a vital pigment in the automotive industry and fine art paints, providing vibrant colors that resist fading even under intense outdoor sunlight and harsh environmental conditions.
Pigment Red 146
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 146 is a Naphthol pigment offering a bright yellowish-red shade with good transparency. It is widely employed in water-based and solvent-based printing inks, as well as industrial coatings. Its lightfastness is considered fair to good, making it a suitable candidate for moderately durable applications where superior outdoor performance is needed but the highest premium grades are not required.
Pigment Red 149
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 149 is a high-performance organic pigment belonging to the Perylene class. It is characterized by its exceptional resistance to heat, light, and chemicals. The pigment offers a clean bluish-red shade with relatively high tinting strength. Due to its outstanding stability, it is frequently specified for industrial coatings, powder coatings, and high-end plastics requiring long-term durability and color retention.
Pigment Red 166
Colour Description: Strong yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 166 belongs to the azo condensation pigment family. The large molecular structure of this pigment results in significantly enhanced resistance to heat, light, and solvent migration compared to ordinary azo pigments. It provides a strong yellowish-red shade and is utilized in engineering plastics, automotive coatings, and industrial baking enamels where high-temperature processing and exceptional durability are required.
Pigment Red 168
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Transparent.
Pigment Red 168 is a member of the Anthraquinone pigment family. It is distinctive for its transparent, bright yellowish-red hue and excellent heat and light stability. It is used in high-grade applications like automotive paints, specialty printing inks, and plastics. Its inherently transparent nature makes it ideal for use in metallic effect coatings where a deep, luminous red finish is desired.
Pigment Red 169
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 169 is a Naphthol based pigment that provides a clean bluish-red shade. It is regularly utilized in the production of printing inks and industrial paints, where its high color yield and moderate fastness properties offer a balanced cost-to-performance ratio for general applications.
Pigment Red 170 F3RK
Colour Description: Strong yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 170 F3RK is a specific shade variant of a Naphthol pigment, known for delivering a strong, opaque yellowish-red shade. It exhibits excellent bleed resistance and good lightfastness in coatings. This makes it a popular choice for industrial paints, road marking paints, and heavy-duty industrial coatings where strong hiding power and durability are key criteria.
Pigment Red 170 F5RK
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 170 F5RK is another variant within the Naphthol pigment class, providing a bright, yellowish-red hue with excellent coverage and chemical resistance. It is often used in water-based and solvent-based industrial paints. It offers superior fastness to over-painting and bleeding, making it a reliable choice for complex, multi-layered industrial coating systems.
Pigment Red 176
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 176 is a high-performance pigment belonging to the Benzimidazolone family. It exhibits a bright bluish-red shade with exceptional resistance to heat, solvents, and light. Because of these superior properties, PR 176 is a preferred colorant for engineering plastics, high-quality automotive coatings, and industrial paints where stringent durability and color stability are paramount.
Pigment Red 177
Colour Description: Strong bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Transparent.
Pigment Red 177 is an Anthraquinone pigment known for its strong, transparent bluish-red shade. It offers outstanding lightfastness, heat resistance, and excellent chemical stability. Due to its transparent nature, it is frequently used in metallic and pearlescent automotive finishes, as well as in high-performance industrial coatings where clarity and permanence are required.
Pigment Red 179
Colour Description: Bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 179 is a high-performance Perylene pigment. It provides a clean bluish-red shade combined with exceptional lightfastness, thermal stability, and resistance to fading. This pigment is widely used in demanding industrial applications, including exterior automotive paints, high-end powder coatings, and engineering plastics that require long-term durability in harsh climates.
Pigment Red 202
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 202 is a variant of the high-performance Quinacridone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinacridone) pigment family. It yields a bright, slightly bluish-red shade with outstanding color stability and lightfastness. It is extensively utilized in automotive paints, high-grade artist colors, and durable exterior industrial coatings, providing robust resistance to fading even under prolonged ultraviolet radiation.
Pigment Red 208
Colour Description: Bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 208 is part of the Benzimidazolone pigment series. It offers a bright yellowish-red shade and demonstrates very good lightfastness, heat resistance, and solvent stability. These performance attributes make it a suitable choice for industrial finishes, thermosetting coatings, and plastics where reliable durability is required.
Pigment Red 214
Colour Description: Strong bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 214 belongs to the azo condensation pigment class. Its larger molecular weight and stable structure provide exceptional resistance to heat, light, and chemical migration. It is primarily used in demanding coating systems, such as automotive basecoats and industrial enamels, where the pigment must withstand high baking temperatures without degradation.
Pigment Red 224
Colour Description: Yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Transparent.
Pigment Red 224 is a Perylene pigment offering a transparent yellowish-red shade. It is highly valued for its extreme lightfastness and stability against heat and chemicals. Because of its transparency, it is perfect for formulating brilliant, translucent effect pigments used in premium automotive lacquers and high-end industrial coatings.
Pigment Red 254
Colour Description: Very bright yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 254 is one of the most prominent pigments in the DPP (Diketopyrrolopyrrole) family. It is widely known for its exceptionally bright, highly saturated yellowish-red shade and extraordinary lightfastness and chemical stability. PR 254 is extensively utilized across the automotive industry, powder coatings, and high-performance plastics, offering a durable, vibrant, and entirely non-toxic alternative to traditional heavy-metal reds.
Pigment Red 266
Colour Description: Strong yellowish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 266 is a high-performance Benzimidazolone pigment. It provides a strong yellowish-red shade with excellent fastness to light, heat, and migration. Its reliable chemical integrity makes it a favored option for high-grade paints, industrial coatings, and specialty plastics requiring long-term color consistency and application stability.
Pigment Red 268
Colour Description: Bright bluish-red.
Transparency/Opacity: Semi-transparent.
Pigment Red 268 belongs to the Naphthol pigment family. It produces a clean, bright bluish-red shade and is widely utilized in the production of industrial paints and printing inks. It offers moderate fastness properties and good overall tinting strength, making it an effective and versatile colorant for indoor and moderately durable external systems.
Pigment Red 101
Colour Description: Dull earthy red.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 101 is an inorganic synthetic ferric oxide pigment. It is characterized by its natural, muted reddish-brown hue and absolute opacity, offering extremely high hiding power. Chemically highly stable, PR 101 is completely non-toxic and offers supreme resistance to light, weather, alkalis, and high temperatures. It is massively utilized in architectural paints, anti-corrosive primers, concrete pigmentation, and ceramic enamels.
Pigment Red 104 / Molybdate Orange/Red
Colour Description: Strong yellowish-red to orange.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 104 is an inorganic pigment chemically composed of lead chromate Molybdate Orange. It is distinguished by its exceptionally bright, opaque, and saturated yellowish-red to orange shade. However, because it contains lead and hexavalent chromium , it is subject to heavy environmental and health toxicity restrictions in many parts of the world and is generally replaced by modern non-toxic organics in contemporary formulations.
Pigment Red 265
Colour Description: Dull reddish-brown.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 265 is an inorganic mixed metal oxide pigment . It delivers a dull reddish-brown shade with absolute opacity and powerful hiding power. The pigment is entirely non-toxic and exhibits extreme stability against heat, chemicals, and ultraviolet radiation, making it a perfect choice for high-durability exterior architectural coatings, high-heat paints, and ceramic applications.
Pigment Red 275
Colour Description: Moderate reddish-brown.
Transparency/Opacity: Opaque.
Pigment Red 275 is an inorganic mixed metal oxide pigment . It offers an opaque reddish-brown hue with exceptional chemical inertness and weatherfastness. Like other inorganic mixed metal oxides, it remains stable in extreme environmental conditions, resistant to both acidic and alkaline attacks. It is commonly applied in heavy-duty industrial coatings, weathering-resistant architectural paints, and high-temperature polymer processing.