Pigmentthrough

Pigmentthrough is a term used in discussions of color interaction and pigment layering to describe the visual effect in which pigment from a lower layer becomes visible through an upper layer due to translucency, diffusion, or scattering. The phenomenon can occur in painting, printing, cosmetics, and plastic colorants, where a semi-opaque or transparent top layer allows the hue and intensity of underlying pigments to influence the perceived color.

Mechanisms behind pigmentthrough include the optical properties of the materials involved. Key factors are the translucency and refractive indices of the pigments and binders, the thickness and texture of each layer, and the scattering behavior of pigment particles. When an upper layer is not fully opaque, light can penetrate, interact with underlayers, and emerge altered by absorption and phase shifts. The substrate or carrier medium’s porosity can also affect how much of the lower color is seen through.

Measurement and analysis of pigmentthrough typically involve spectrophotometric methods to capture how reflectance changes with wavelength as layer configurations vary. Colorimetric data, such as CIE L*a*b* values, can quantify the shift caused by underlying colors. Thickness control, pigment selection, and binder formulation are used to predict and reproduce the effect.

Practical considerations include choosing pigments with appropriate opacity, adjusting glaze thickness, and planning underlayers to achieve desired depth or tonal complexity. Pigmentthrough is often leveraged to create visual depth, richness, and nuance in layered color systems, while also presenting challenges in color matching and reproduction across media.