Kleurzwarten

Kleurzwarten is a Dutch term with two main, distinct uses. In art, printing, and industrial coloring, it refers to black pigments or inks that are used to achieve deep, opaque blacks within colored materials. The label kleurzwart is often used in catalogs and product descriptions to distinguish a robust, color-managed black from other pigments that may introduce visible undertones. Commonly these are carbon-based blacks designed for high opacity and good lightfastness, and they may be blended with other colorants to create specific shades or to adjust a color system in paints, inks, or plastics.

In sociolinguistic and historical contexts, kleurzwart has appeared as a descriptor for people with dark skin in Dutch-language texts. In contemporary usage this sense is generally considered outdated or potentially offensive, and contemporary Dutch tends to use more precise or neutral terms such as 'zwarten' or specific ethnic or national identifiers when describing people.

Etymology: The compound kleurzwart literally means 'color black' in Dutch. The plural kleurzwarten can thus refer to multiple items described as kleurzwart in pigment contexts, or, in older texts, to groups of people described with that label.

When using the term, be aware of potential ambiguity and choose the context-appropriate meaning to avoid confusion.