Colour news
FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleFestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For Sale
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Colours of printing and ink

Inks for books, banknotes, posters and packaging.

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)
Blue Woad A blue dye once vital to Europe's textile trade, made from the leaves of a flowering plantDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3 Red Realgar An orange-red arsenic sulfide mineral once used as a pigment and poisonPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +5 Red Carmine A deep red pigment made from cochineal insects, once prized across continentsPigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2 Black Carbon black A deep black pigment and filler made by burning carbon-rich materials with little airPigment #50C878 Paris Green A toxic emerald-green pigment once prized in art and used as an early insecticidePigment 路 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany +4 Blue Haematoxylin A natural dye from logwood, best known for staining cell nuclei in histologyDye 路 馃嚨馃嚟 Philippines Purple and violet Logwood A tree whose wood yields a dye once vital for textiles and scienceColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +3 Black Bone char A deep black pigment and filter made by charring animal bonesPigment Green Scheele's green A yellowish-green pigment once prized for its brilliance, now infamous for its toxicityPigment #E49B0F Gamboge A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment 路 馃嚢馃嚟 Cambodia +5 Red Brazilin A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +4 Red Lac啶侧ぞ啶曕啶粪ぞ A red resin secreted by insects and used as dye, varnish and shellacColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Grey Hematite A mineral iron oxide, black to red, used since prehistory as a pigment and oreColour named from nature 路 馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa +5 White Barium sulfate A dense, white mineral used in pigments, X-rays, and industryPigment Brown Iron oxide Earthy pigments made from iron and oxygen, found in nature and used since prehistoryPigment Red Lead(II,IV) oxide A strong red-orange pigment once widely used to protect iron and in illuminated manuscriptsPigment 路 馃嚘馃嚭 Australia Green Chromium(III) oxide A strong green pigment and polishing compound made from chromium orePigment Yellow Cadmium sulfide A bright yellow pigment and semiconductor compound made from cadmium and sulfurPigment Brown Juglone A plant compound that gives deep brown-orange colour to cloth, ink and foodPigment White Barium metaborate A white or clear inorganic compound used in optics and as a pigmentPigment #FADA5E Stil de grain yellow A yellow pigment made from buckthorn berries, once known as 'pink' or 'sap green'Pigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2 Brown Earth tone A palette of colours inspired by soil, stone, and natural landscapesColour named from nature Blue Blue pigment Pigments that give blue colour to paints, inks, and art from ancient times to todayPigment 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Red Sappanwood A tropical Asian tree whose heartwood yields a red dye called brazilinColour named from nature 路 馃嚦馃嚨 Nepal +4

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.