High-Performance and Special Effect Pigments

High-performance and special effect pigments bring special properties to the products they are used in. Whether it is better performance in architectural or industrial coatings or optical effects for the automotive market, these coatings are prized for their qualities.

Nikhil Pampatwar, head – research & consulting at Verified Market Research (VMR), reported that the paint and coatings are the primary applications for high-performance and special effect pigments, with smaller portions going to inks, cosmetics, and textiles.

“According to a recent Smithers study, a pivotal year is ahead for the market for inorganic, organic, and special-effect high-performance pigments, including pearlescent and metallic compounds,” said Pampatwar. “Moreover, according to the study that Smithers released in 2022 in the future of high-performance pigments through 2027, global consumption will rise to 241,344 tons and be worth an estimated USD $7.33 billion.”

Pampatwar noted that high-performance and special effects pigments are widely used in the coatings industry due to their unique characteristics and aesthetic benefits.

“These pigments are made to function better than other options while producing effects that are aesthetically pleasing in a variety of coating applications,” Pampatwar pointed out.

As per VMR analysis, in the upcoming years, it is anticipated that the market for high-performance and special effects pigments will continue to rise.

“The demand for high-performance and special effects pigments was being driven by factors such as rising consumer preference for aesthetically pleasing products, technological advancements, and the need for improved product performance in a variety of industries, including automotive, coatings, plastics and cosmetics,” said Pampatwar.

Pigment manufacturers noted that the market for high-performance and special effect pigments was fairly strong last year.

Carlos Hernandez, marketing manager, Coatings and Printing Systems Americas for Orion Engineered Carbons, said that 2022 was an incredible year for global demand for high-performance carbon black pigments. He added that Orion made capital expenditures to improve the supply of these materials.

“In the automotive industry, these pigments are used especially for auto body basecoat OEM and refinish, leather coatings for car seats and private planes, and conventional auto parts,” Hernandez said. “In the last couple of years, coatings for rims have become very popular.”

Rajendra Dhake, R&D head, Pidilite Industries Limited, observed that there is a continuing switch from inorganic pigments to HPPs for quality and environmental reasons.

“In addition, the replacement of cadmium pigments and diarylide pigments is due to toxicological limitations in specific applications,” Dhake added. “Several new market segments are becoming increasingly attractive for HPP., e.g., inkjet, high-tech security printing, and pigments for optical storage.”

Zaheed Islam, global market segment manager for coatings, Cabot Corporation, said that as the economy started to open post-pandemic, customer demand returned for goods across several automotive and industrial applications that contain high-performance pigments. However, Islam added that raw material inflation, component shortages and logistics challenges were constraining their growth potential. 

“The pandemic also accelerated the move towards more sustainable solutions,” Islam noted. “This means that growth from high-performance pigments that enable volatile content reduction, shorten processing time, and reduce use of dispersant additives, were generally higher than other pigments.

“The automotive industry has been the largest user of such high-performance pigments driven by regulatory changes to reduce volatile components in coatings formulation; customer preference for higher jetness color and increased competition to differentiate the finished product,” added Islam. “We are seeing a similar need for pigments with high color strength in industrial coatings such as kitchen cabinets with an increased demand for sustainable products.”

Mark Ryan, marketing manager, The Shepherd Color Company, noted that the first half of the year saw strong demand. “We saw that demand fall off in the last half of the year, with the EU leading the decline,” Ryan added.

Paul Nowak, director sales & marketing, Americas for CQV Co., Ltd., reported that 2022 was a very good year for CQV’s special effect pigment sales. Nowak added that while sales and revenue were above expectations, such gains can be attributed to several factors.

“First is the on-going recovery from the pandemic as demand for more durable end use products picked up significantly,” Nowak reported. “For example, automobile demand was up. However, due to the chip shortages, supply was limited, so depending on which side of the equation you were on you saw either an increase or decrease in usage. For special effects, the overall auto production numbers were up despite the chip shortages taking away from what would have been even further increases. On the home appliance side, however, the chip shortage was much more severe and here we actually saw a loss in revenue and sales. Since the end of last year, however, this has been gradually getting better.”

Tim Polgar, sales manager for Liberty Specialty Pigments, reported that Liberty fared well in 2022 with its high-performance pigments in the coatings and plastic industry. He noted that Liberty sees major inroads within the automotive industry, architectural coatings and the plastic industry.

“This was due to customers looking to improve their position when it came to eye catching plastic toys and bottles for the consumer market,” added Polgar. “As for coatings, our customers are always looking for more durability in both automotive and architectural coatings.”

As for key advantages, Polgar noted that customers in all industries are looking for more permanent colors that exhibit longer color durability, cleanliness and lightfastness. Nowak said that the main advantages of special effect pigments are their ability to allow a brand to be easily recognized based on the unique eye-catching colors they allow the formulator to create.

“They impart emotion and thus a personal connection to the product on which they are applied,” he noted. “They also are extremely durable and long-lasting, allowing the product on which they are applied to stay not only relevant but also good looking throughout its life cycle.”

“The major advantage of high-performance carbon black pigments is the great color development that can be attained with deep black – high jetness – and a blue undertone plus other characteristics such as high gloss and low haze after total grinding,” Hernandez noted.

New Markets

While architectural, automotive and industrial markets are already using these pigments, there are other opportunities.

Dhake noted that with high energy costs and the recession in Europe and the US, retaining the market share in the current scenario is challenging.

“Still, introducing specialized pigments for various applications may bust the demand for HPP,” Dhake added. “Nowadays, pigment manufacturers, including Pidilite, offer tailored products to the ink and paint segment, which also helps establish a better market position. Demand in India and a few emerging countries for paint is expected to grow by 8 to 10 %, which certainly helps the HHP industry.”

“If sustainable products and process technologies can deliver the performance, quality, and consistency at scale while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, they can make major inroads in the high-performance pigment applications of the future,” Islam observed. “Innovative pigment manufacturers are working on several initiatives to meet this growing industry demand.”

Ryan noted that Shepherd Color specializes in Complex Inorganic Color Pigments (CICPs) that due to their high-temperature calcination step are highly inert to conditions that would destroy even high-performance organic pigments. Shepherd Color’s CICPs have high opacity, excellent gloss, and stable dispersion properties. “Building product materials in general require the extreme durability of Shepherd Color’s CICPs. Coil and extrusion coatings are a major use because of the IR reflective properties and potential for energy savings and other benefits,” Ryan added. “We see a lot of interest in high-durability powder-coatings that can meet stringent weathering requirements like AAMA 2605.”

“Manufacturers have extended these grades to other types of applications where customers are looking for the excitement generated by this degree of jetness: For example, appliances, cellphones, and even some wood applications,” Hernandez concluded.