A class of colourants made of particles that hardly dissolve in water or oil. Unlike dyes they do not attach to the fibre as molecules: the particles are fixed to the cloth with a binder such as a resin. They are broadly divided into inorganic pigments from earth and minerals and mostly petrochemically synthesised organic pigments.
Claims and evidence (17)
The limitations noted for some sources are recorded in Japanese only — see the Japanese edition.
Scope: As a legal designation requirement
States "colouring for 'iro-sashi' and 'kumadori' must use pigment".
Pigment ・differenceStates that dye is a water-soluble colour powder that penetrates into the fibre for a soft colour, but tends to bleed when layered, is less durable than pigment, and fades/yellows with age and UV, while resisting rub-off and colour transfer; pigment, insoluble in water or oil, leaves particle colour on the cloth surface, is UV-resistant with clear colour that does not bleed when layered, but rubs/transfers off easily.contextual
States dye bleeds when layered and fades/yellows but resists rubbing off; pigment, because it originates from minerals according to the source, resists UV and does not bleed when layered but rubs and transfers off easily.
Pigment ・typeStates pigments are broadly divided into "inorganic pigments" (from earth, minerals or synthetic metal compounds) and "organic pigments" (mostly from petrochemical synthesis).contextual
States pigments are broadly divided into inorganic pigments (earth/mineral/synthetic metal compounds) and organic pigments (mostly petrochemical).
Pigment requires Pigment-printing binder (general term)contextual
Scope: Pigment printing (e.g. screen printing)
States pigment printing colours with pigment plus binder, a binder being an adhesive-like material fixing pigment to fibre; so pigment prints have more thickness/presence than dye prints.
Heat-transfer printing differs from Pigmentcontextual
Scope: Sublimation transfer printing compared with pigment printing / sublimation transfer with disperse dyes (a form of heat-transfer printing)
The comparison with pigment printing over whether colour sits on the surface or penetrates the fibre.
Source:
昇華転写プリントとは ・「昇華転写プリントとは」昇華転写プリントのメリット・生地の風合いを損ないにくい ・
Pigment ・differenceContrasts dye and pigment: a dye is a single molecule with a defined chemical structure that dissolves in the solvent and colours while dissolved, whereas a pigment is an assembly of many molecules, insoluble, that colours while dispersed as particles; it also contrasts their absorption-spectrum shape (sharp for dyes, broad for pigments) and transparency versus hiding power. Water/light fastness is noted only on the pigment side, without an explicit dye-side contrast.contextual
Scope: general dye-versus-pigment contrast, as presented in an educational review article for colour-material specialists
Presents a table (Table 1) contrasting dyes and pigments across chemical structure, solubility, colouring state, absorption-spectrum shape, and transparency/hiding power. Its final row, 'excellent water/light fastness', is listed only on the pigment side, with no corresponding dye-side entry.
Pigment ・propertyDefines a pigment as a powdery colorant that is insoluble or poorly soluble in water, oil and organic solvents and is both physically and chemically stable; unlike a dye, it does not itself dye the substrate in molecular form, but is fixed to the substrate with the help of a binder resin while remaining in particle form, or is fixed by being dispersed within the substrate.contextual
Defines pigment as an insoluble/poorly-soluble, physically and chemically stable powdery colorant, fixed to a substrate with the help of a binder while remaining in particle form, or fixed by dispersion within the substrate.
Pigment ・propertyStates that commercial pigment dispersions come in three general concentration ranges: the most dilute (7-10% pigment) has particle size varying widely from 2 to 25 microns, while the most concentrated (up to 50% pigment) is finished to a more uniform 1-2 micron range, giving more uniform shade and higher colour yield.contextual
States commercial pigment dispersions span three concentration grades; the dilute grade (7-10%) has widely varying 2-25 micron particles, the concentrated grade (up to 50%) is finished to 1-2 microns for more uniform shade and higher colour yield.
Pigment ・used inStates that, of the print systems used on cotton, pigment printing accounts for as much as seventy percent of the total (the footnote cites "Two-phase Printing, Fletcher Stone, 2000, Clemson University" and "Stork Industries Marketing Statistics – 2004"), and lists as its advantages that it needs no pre- or post-treatment other than drying the fabric, plus a wide colour gamut and sharp prints.contextual
Scope: Cotton printing. A statement in a 2007 Cotton Incorporated technical bulletin; the figure rests on the footnoted 2000 and 2004 sources. The country and the survey method are not stated
States pigment printing accounts for as much as seventy percent of the print systems used on cotton (the footnote cites a 2000 Clemson University item and Stork Industries Marketing Statistics 2004), with advantages of no pre/post treatment other than drying, wide colour gamut and sharp prints.
Pigment ・differenceStates that dyes are coloured compounds with reactive groups that chemically bond to the fibre, whereas pigments consist solely of colour molecules with no reactive groups and no affinity for the fibre, so their adhesion to the fibre requires the help of a polymer compound called a binder.contextual
States dyes are compounds with reactive groups that chemically bond to fibre, while pigments are colour molecules alone with no reactive groups or fibre affinity, requiring a binder for adhesion.
Fabrie Regular is a type of Pigmentcontextual
The product description explicitly states Ingredient: water-based acrylic resin pigment.
Pigment ・applies toBecause pigment ink is bound to the fabric with a binder, it is said that there is no restriction on the type of fabric that can be printed.contextual
Scope: Descriptions of pigment ink for inkjet textile printing (digital textile printing)
Describes pigment ink's bonding mode as via a binder, stating there is no restriction on fabric type.
Source:
デジタルテキスタイル用色材 （城田衣（キヤノン株式会社 総合R&D本部）, 2015） ・表-1 インク種別の特徴／本文2節 ・
States that its proprietary pigment ink lets one system print on cotton, silk, polyester, nylon and blends without changing the ink.
Pigment ・propertyPigment ink is said to allow the final washing step to be skipped, but its colour tone, hand-feel and colour fastness are described as still somewhat inferior to those achieved with dye inks.contextual
Scope: pigment ink in digital textile printing
States pigment allows the final wash step to be omitted (an environmental benefit) but still falls short of dye in colour tone, hand-feel and fastness.
Source:
デジタルテキスタイル用色材 （城田衣（キヤノン株式会社 総合R&D本部）, 2015） ・2．インク（色材）種別分類と特徴、節末尾（表-1直前） ・
Pigment ・applies toMimaki's pigment ink for printing (SPC-0350K/M/C, SPC-0435Y) is listed with cotton (T-shirt) as its corresponding fabric, and no fabric pretreatment is stated to be needed for it.contextual
Scope: Mimaki's own pigment-ink product guidance
Lists cotton (T-shirt) as the applicable fabric for the pigment ink (SPC-0350K,M,C/SPC-0435Y) and states in section 8-1 that 'no pretreatment is required'.
Pigment ・propertyOn printed T-shirts, sections printed with pigment (essentially fabric paint) are said to resist colour-removing treatment, whereas some prints are made with actual dye (e.g. reactive dye), in which case they may respond to the same treatment as the surrounding fabric.contextual
Scope: Printed T-shirt designs and their response to discharge agents
Says a printed design made with pigment (fabric-paint-like ink) resists colour removal, while one made with an actual dye such as reactive dye may respond like the rest of the fabric.
Pigment ・propertyA table in the Shikizai review lists the challenges of pigment inks as inferior colour tone, inferior fabric hand and low rubbing fastness, and their uses as apparel (T-shirts) and fabric bags and wallets.contextual
Scope: as the table of pigment-ink characteristics in a review of digital textile printing
Table 1 gives pigment inks as not limited by fibre type, bound by a binder; advantages: simple process, no washing step, high repeatability, easy colour matching; challenges: inferior colour tone, inferior hand, low rubbing fastness; uses: apparel (T-shirts), fabric bags and wallets.
Source:
デジタルテキスタイル用色材 （城田衣（キヤノン株式会社 総合R&D本部）, 2015） ・表-1 インク種別の特徴（誌面 P95〜96） ・
Pigment ・propertyBurch says that if you can feel a tiny roughness where the print is, it may very well have been printed with pigments (essentially fabric paint) rather than dyes, and pigments tend to resist colour removal; but she adds that some prints are made with reactive dyes, in which case the design may respond to the same treatments.contextual
Scope: as one passage in an individual dyeing site's answer to a reader's question
If you can feel a tiny roughness where the print is, it may well be pigment (fabric paint), which tends to resist colour removal; but some prints are made with reactive dyes, in which case the same treatments may work.
Open questions (3)
Besides shu (vermilion), what specific materials does the pigment used in bingata colour application refer to (orpiment, gofun, sumi ink)?
The sources obtained in our search mention "pigment" and "shu (vermilion) among warm reds" but do not confirm specific mineral/material names such as orpiment, gofun (shell white) or sumi ink. Pre-fetch web searches turned up articles naming these, but none was fetched and read as primary text, so they were not turned into claims.
Sources differ on pigment printing's share of printing -- 'as much as seventy percent' of print systems on cotton (a 2007 bulletin) versus 'over 80%' of production (a 2026 paper's statement, which does not say which fabric) -- does the gap reflect the years, the way the figures were compiled, or the range each covers?
Two sources with different provenance give different figures on a closely related topic. The first is a 2007 Cotton Incorporated technical bulletin whose footnote cites a 2000 Clemson University item and Stork Industries Marketing Statistics 2004 (it states neither the country nor the survey method); the second is one sentence in the introduction of a 2026 peer-reviewed paper. It does not say what is counted, which country or year, or whether it concerns cotton; no source is attached to the sentence itself, and it does not say whether the reference cited in the next sentence is the origin of the figure. The ranges may differ, so a direct comparison was not possible.
Can a print made with reactive dye be reliably distinguished from a pigment print by touch alone?🧪 testable at home
Paula Burch's answer suggests feeling for slight roughness on a print as a clue to whether it is a pigment print, but does not claim this is a reliable identification method.
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