A method of encapsulating pigment flakes with a metal oxide coating is provided. According to the method, pigment flakes are mixed with a solvent, a metal salt is added to the solvent, and a reducing agent is added to the solvent, so as to encapsulate the pigment flakes with a metal oxide coating.

The invention relates to coated effect pigments, wherein the coating comprises a binder which is suitable for powder paints. They comprise a crystalline and an amorphous fraction which is determined by C.sup.13 NMR MAS relaxation measurements, the relaxation of the .sup.13C cores being fitted as a biexponential relaxation according to the formula (II) and the degree of crystallinity c being in a range between 40 to 85%, and relaxation having a short average relaxation time T.sub.1.sup.S and a long average relaxation time T.sub.1.sup.l, and T.sub.1.sup.l being in a range of from 65 to 130 s. The effect pigments coated according to the invention have at least one endothermic peak with a maximum from a range of T.sub.max=100 to 150° C. and an enthalpy ΔH associated with said peak from a range of 15 J/g to 80 J/g in DSC at a feed speed of 5° C./min, the enthalpy being calculated relative to the amount of the binder. The binders are applied to the effect pigment by way of spontaneous precipitation.

A platelet-shaped magnetic effect pigment is provided for use in a printing ink, and includes a layer construction with a magnetic layer and at least one optical functional layer, such that the magnetic layer is based on a magnetic material having a column-shaped nanostructure and the magnetic columns respectively have a largely uniform preferential magnetic direction deviating from the platelet plane.

The invention relates to interference pigments based on SiO.sub.2 flakes having a broad layer-thickness distribution, and to the use thereof in paints, coatings, powder coatings, plastics and in particular in cosmetic formulations and for colouring food and pharmaceutical products.

The present invention provides a glitter pigment suitable for imparting high brightness to reflected light toward a regular reflection direction and reducing unnaturalness caused by an observation angle-dependent variation in reflected light. The glitter pigment according to the present invention includes: a flaky substrate; an optical interference film formed on a surface of the flaky substrate; and fine light scattering particles attached to the optical interference film, wherein reflected light is represented by an L*(15) value of more than 100, a ΔL*(h−s) value of less than 30, and a Δh(h−s) value of less than 40° in an L*C*h color system. The L*(15) value is an L* value of the reflected light toward a 15° direction based on an angular representation in which, when an illuminant is disposed so that an incident angle is 45°, an angle at which light is regularly reflected is defined as 0° and a light incident direction is defined as positive. The ΔL*(h−s) value is a difference in L* between a highlight and shade, and the Δh(h−s) value is a difference in h between a highlight and shade. The Δh value expressed in angle is an angular difference. The highlight is an average of values measured at 15° and 25°, and the shade is an average of values measured at 75° and 110°.

A sheet, including a substrate having a surface, wherein the surface includes a first marking that defines a boundary of a hollow flake, and a second marking that defines a boundary of a solid flake; wherein the first marking and the second marking are each, independently, configured to protrude from a plane of the surface or depress down from the plane of the surface; and wherein the first marking surrounds the second marking is disclosed. A complementary set of flakes, and a method of making the complementary set of flakes are also disclosed.

An article includes a reflector having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, and a third surface; and a first selective light modulator layer external to the first surface of the reflector; wherein the third surface of the reflector is open. A method of making an article is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to transparent, electrically semiconducting interference pigments having high color strength, and in particular to flake-form interference pigments which comprise an oxygen-deficient layer of TiO.sub.2-x, to a process for the preparation of such pigments, and to the use of the pigments prepared in this way.

The present invention relates to red effect pigments including a nonmetallic substrate in platelet form and a coating applied thereto, wherein the coating includes at least one of metal oxide, metal hydroxide or metal oxide hydrate, the metal ions of the metal oxide, metal hydroxide and/or metal oxide hydrate comprise at least two different metal ions selected from the group of metals consisting of Fe, Sn, Ti and Zr, and to a process for production thereof and to the use of the red effect pigments.

This invention deals with effect pigment mixture comprising platelet-like aluminum effect pigments obtained by grinding of aluminum or aluminum based alloy shot and silvery pearlescent pigments, wherein the silvery pearlescent pigments are taken from the group consisting of: a) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, which comprises or consists of an iron-oxide with Fe(II)-ions, b) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, which comprises or consists of titanium suboxide or a pearlescent pigment comprising a substrate with a high-refractive index with n>1.8 layer, which comprises or consists of a titanium suboxide that is optionally coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, c) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, which comprises or consists of titanium oxynitride, d) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a layer comprising carbon, wherein the carbon is enclosed in a particulate form in another metal oxide layer or is formed as a separate, individual layer, e) a transparent substrate coated with a first layer comprising or consisting of a mixture of the oxides of titanium, iron and at least one of cobalt and chromium and a second layer on the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises an oxide of titanium, and mixtures or combinations of the pearlescent pigments a) to e) or pearlescent pigments with mixtures or combinations of the various coating layers mentioned in the pearlescent pigments a) to e), wherein the weight ratio of the pearlescent pigment to the aluminum effect pigment is in a range of 0.4 to 5.0. The invention deals also with a coating formulation containing this effect pigment mixture.