Created in 1925, the Colour Index International is a database of pigments and dyes published by the Society of Dyers and Colourists and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. Colourants are given many different proprietary and generic names, but the Colour Index International provides a standardised system used by manufacturers and consumers all over the world that can be a hugely informative tool for artists.
 

What is a Pigment?

Pigments are fine coloured powders that can be mixed with a binder – such as linseed oil, gum arabic, or acrylic polymer – to make artist paints. While dyes are soluble and dissolve in the binding medium (enabling them to chemically bind with a material – ideal for colouring textiles), pigments are insoluble and are suspended within the binding medium. The manufacture of artist paints consumes a tiny fraction of the pigment industry – the vast majority of pigments are used in larger industries, like in the production of cars and plastics.

How Does the Colour Index Work?

Unlike other colour systems, like Pantone or the Munsell System, the Colour Index International groups dyes and pigments according to their chemical composition rather than the exact hue, value, and chroma of the colour they produce.

Each pigment entry has two identifying codes – the Colour Index Constitution Number, and the Colour Index Generic Name Code. For example, Ultramarine Blue is categorised under CI 77007 (the Colour Index Constitution Number) and PB 29 (the Colour Index Generic Name Code). The Colour Index Generic Name Code is most recognisable to artists, and it’s common to find one or more of these codes listed as part of the colour description before you choose it, and on the tube or bottle of paint:

The letters classify the colour group, e.g. PB= Pigment Blue, PW= Pigment White, PV= Pigment Violet, etc. The number classifies the chemical composition – so PB 29 can be read as ‘Pigment Blue 29’ – identifying it as sodium-aluminium-sulpho-silicate, or Ultramarine Blue (like on the Williamsburg tube above, some manufacturers add the chemical formula alongside the Colour Index Name Code, but not all do). The number is not related directly to any part of the actual chemical structure, rather they are assigned chronologically in order of when the pigment was added to the index (not when the pigment was discovered).

Paint manufacturers are not obliged to disclose what pigments are in their paints. Some pigment mixtures, like Winsor & Newton’s Cadmium-free colours, are proprietary and the Colour Index Codes aren’t given. Most paint ranges, particularly professional ones, do include them on the label.
 

Why is the Pigment Colour Index Useful for Artists?

Here are some of the reasons why it can be so useful to become familiar with the Pigment Colour Index: