The purpose of the present invention is to provide: a high performance dye-based polarizing film and dye-based polarizing plate, in particular a neutral gray high performance dye-based film and dye-based polarizing plate, having excellent polarizing performance and moisture resistance, heat resistance and light resistance; and an azo compound or a salt thereof able to produce same. The present invention provides an azo compound represented by formula (1) or a salt thereof.

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Azo anthrapyridone dye of general formula (III) wherein A, R.sub.1, R.sub.2, B, M and n are as described in the specification, are excellent magenta dyes for dyeing and printing of paper, other cellulose containing materials and textiles materials and, in particular, for the preparation of recording fluids for ink jet printing and for writing utensils.

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The present application relates to novel whitening agents for cellulosic substrates. The whitening agents are comprised of at least two constituents: at least one chromophore constituent and at least one polymeric constituent. Suitable chromophore components generally fluoresce blue, red, violet, or purple color when exposed to light, or they may absorb light to reflect these same shades. The whitening agents are further characterized by the polymeric component comprising at least two repeating glycerol units. This disclosure also relates to laundry care compositions including but not limited to liquid and/or powder laundry detergent formulations and rinse added fabric softening (RAFS) compositions that comprise such whitening agents.

This achromatic polarizing plate has a high transmissivity, while expressing an achromatic white color when the absorption axes of the polarizing elements are positioned in parallel, and expressing an achromatic black color when the absorption axes of the polarizing elements are positioned orthogonally to one another. This polarizing element contains at least two specific azo compounds, and the absolute value of the difference between the average transmissivity of 420 nm to 480 nm light and the average transmissivity of 520 nm to 590 nm light is equal to or less than 2.5, and the absolute value of the difference between the average transmissivity of 520 nm to 590 nm light and the average transmissivity of 590 nm to 640 nm light is equal to or less than 2.0.

The present invention relates to [1] a process for producing a pigment composition, including the step of subjecting a raw material pigment composition containing C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, a specific by-product and water to heat treatment at a temperature of from 160 to 210 C.; and [2] a method of reducing a content of a by-product in a raw material pigment composition containing C.I. Pigment Yellow 74, the specific by-product and water, said method including the step of subjecting the raw material pigment composition to heat treatment at a temperature of from 160 to 210 C.

A yellow toner that is, even in small amounts, better in reflection density and chroma than ever before. Disclosed is a yellow toner containing a binder resin and a yellow colorant, wherein, as the yellow colorant, a compound A represented by the following general formula (1) and a compound B represented by the following formula (2) are contained, and wherein, with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin, a content of the compound A is from 0.5 to 7.5 parts by mass, and a content of the compound B is from 2.5 to 9.0 parts by mass: ##STR00001##

An ink accommodating body accommodating an ink composition is provided, in which the ink composition contains water and a first dye that is a compound represented by Formula (B-1) or a salt thereof, a content of the first dye in the ink composition is 0.5% by mass or more with respect to a total amount of the ink composition, and a value of a ratio (A/V) is 1.7 or less where a total surface area of a metal, of the ink accommodating body, in contact with the ink composition is A (cm.sup.2) and an accommodation capacity for the ink composition accommodated in the ink accommodating body is V (cm.sup.3). ##STR00001##

An object of the invention is to provide an anisotropic light absorption film having both a high alignment degree and high light resistance, and a laminate provided using the anisotropic light absorption film. An anisotropic light absorption film according to the embodiment of the invention is formed from a composition having a first dichroic azo dye, a second dichroic azo dye, and a compound represented by Formula (I) or a polymer thereof, the first dichroic azo dye has a solution absorption maximum wavelength of 400 nm or greater and less than 550 nm, the second dichroic azo dye has a solution absorption maximum wavelength of 550 nm or greater and 750 nm or less, and the film has an arrangement structure of the first dichroic azo dye or an arrangement structure of the second dichroic azo dye therein.

The present invention relates to azo dyes of formula ##STR00001##
wherein R.sub.1 denotes C.sub.1-C.sub.12 alkyl which is unsubstituted or substituted by one or more C.sub.1-C.sub.12 alkoxy groups, hydroxyl groups, amino groups, cyano groups or halogen atoms and which may be interrupted one or more times by the radical O, S, NR.sub.4, COO or OOC; R.sub.4 is hydrogen or C.sub.1-C.sub.12 alkyl; either R.sub.2 is cyano and R.sub.3 is halogen or R.sub.2 is halogen and R.sub.3 is cyano; and Ar represents a carbocyclic or heterocyclic aromatic radical, to the process for the preparation thereof, to mixtures containing said dyes and to the use thereof in dyeing or printing semi-synthetic and especially synthetic hydrophobic fiber materials, more especially textile materials.

A polarizer contains, in a base thereof, at least one of an azo compound represented by Formula (1) or a salt thereof (as compound A), and at least one of an azo compound represented by Formula (2-I), (2-II), (3), (4-I), (4-II), (5-I) or (5-II), or a salt thereof (as compound B).