Alizarin Crimson Hue

Pigment History: The base ingredient in Alizarin Crimson, the Madder Plant (Rubia Tinctorum), has been cultivated and used for thousands of years. Ancient Persian, Indian and Egyptian artifacts reveal its use for dyes and inks was widespread among craftsmen. In 1868, German Chemists Graebe and Liebermann discovered the chemistry behind the colorant and created Alizarin, which was a vast improvement in lightfastness over the natural madder color. GOLDEN founder Sam Golden developed a stable version of Alizarin while working at BOCOUR Artist Colors in New York City. Later at GOLDEN, Sam sought to raise the bar once again and created a blend of Quinacridones as a more lightfast hue, still made today as Quinacridone Crimson. By blending Quinacridones Magenta and Burnt Orange with Phthalo Green Blue Shade, GOLDEN achieved an even closer match.
Pigment Classification: Synthetic Organic (Mixture)
Chemical Description: Quinacridone
Opacity/Transparency: N/A
Lightfastness Rating: N/A
Permanency: N/A
Colour Index Name:PR 122
Colour Index Number:73915
Munsell Notation Listing:
Hue: 10.0
Value: 2.80
Chroma: 1.2
Pantone Matching System: PMS 504
Spectrophotometer Readings: N/A
Viscosity Range: 16000-20000 CPS
PH Range: 8.7-9.0
Gloss Average: 100.92
CIE L*a*b* Values: L*27.958 a*9.37 b*2.08
Tint Strength: 73.1

The Lightfastness Ratings included in this chart are provided by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) in the standard for “Artists’ Acrylic Emulsion Paints”. (ASTM D 5098, Annual Book of Standards, Volume 6.02). Colors with a Lightfastness Rating of I are considered Excellent (“Exc.”) and those with a Lightfastness Rating of II are Very Good (“V.G.”). Where Lightfastness Ratings have not been obtained according to ASTM test protocol, “NA” is indicated in the table. In these cases, data from pigment manufacturers and our own test facilities have been used and an appropriate description assigned under Permanency.

**The identified colors are sensitive to a combination of moisture and UV radiation and are not recommended for outdoor use.

For Opacity/Transparency, we have determined that an eight-point scale is most appropriate for describing the properties of our colors. We have assigned each color in the chart a number from 1 (most opaque) to 8 (most transparent) to indicate the relative opacity/transparency of that color.

The C.I. (Colour Index) Name is an internationally recognized code assigned to a particular “colorant.” The C.I. Name consists of the category (type of dye or pigment), general hue and serial number assigned, based on its chemical constitution. For example, PB 60, Anthraquinone Blue, indicates a specific Pigment Blue. The C.I. Number is a five-digit reference number assigned in the Colour Index based on the chemical structure of a colorant, regardless of usage class.

Notes:
1) The Golden C.P. designation indicates concentrated cadmium pigments (CC).

2) Information about Iridescent and Interference products apply for both Fine and Coarse grades.