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Indigo

PB66

Alternate Name

Indigofera

Pigment Description

Opinions are divided on the lightfastness of this pigment. It ranges pretty widely. We were very surprised to learn that indigo may be extremely toxic-- see notes below on natural indigo as well. Please see Monona Rossol's work as her writing contains details and information on this important topic. We have not personally worked with this as a painting pigment, but have encountered indigo dye in other arts projects.

Resources

PB66 pigment data from David G. Myers, The Color of Art Pigment Database, Artiscreation.com,

Rossol, Monona. The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide. New York, NY : Allworth Press, 2001. The book is rather dated, updated information is available from her website.

Stats

Lightfastness

Varies

Varies considerably, perhaps down to ASTM III, which is not very good.

Transparency

Semi-Transparent

Toxicity

Previously thought to be low concern, however may be extremely toxic

“Indigo is a particularly good illustration of a natural dye thought to be nontoxic for years until recent studies showed it can cripple our immune system in the same way that the highly toxic dioxins can. In fact, one of indigo derivatives produced by our bodies when we metabolize indigo, called indirubin, is 50 times more toxic than the worst of the dioxins.” -Monona Rossol. This was written of natural indigo. PB66 is synthetic indigo.

Chemical Name

Synthetic indigo, indigoid

with PB66 (Indigo)
No single-pigment Oil found with PB66

DISCLAIMER: Please note that we are not experts in health and safety and we are not toxicologists, please consult the proper experts. We are not liable for any issues that may arise from the use of our website or its contents. The information contained in this site is provided without warranty or guarantee of any kind. We do not necessarily endorse any other website that are linked from our site. For any important pigment specs, please reference the manufacturer details. If you discover errors or omissions, please reach out through our contact form. Thank you.

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