The Shepherd Color Co. said its groundbreaking "YInMn Blue" technology, licensed from Oregon State University, and inspiring the new "Bluetiful" crayon color from Crayola, is ready for commercial sale.

The Environmental Protection Agency granted Shepherd Color a Low Volume Exemption (LVE) so this new pigment, commercially known as Blue 10G513, can be used in industrial coatings and plastics. The new Blue is revolutionary because it is a new pigment chemistry that expands the range of colors available that stay cooler when exposed to the sun, allowing building material manufacturers to meet regulatory requirements and potentially save energy. 
 
The high temperature calcination production process makes the Blue 10G513 highly inert. While it is highly IR-reflective, it is extremely opaque in the visible and UV parts of the solar spectrum. The inertness means that it can be used in a wide range of coatings and plastics and have excellent weathering properties. The world's largest and most sophisticated coatings companies are testing Blue 10G513, where it is showing promising results. Due to the multiple decade warranties common with pre-painted coil-coated building products and the newness of this pigment, the extensive testing needed to validate the complete coating performance hasn’t been validated yet. Blue 10G513 can also be used in plastics where its high temperature stability, high opacity, and color make it a unique pigment for coloring polymers.
 
While the EPA gave Shepherd the approval for use in industrial coatings and plastics, approval is still awaiting for use in artist color materials in the U.S.

Sheperd is filing a full Pre-Manufacturing Notice to get Blue 10G513 on the Toxic Substances Control Act inventory and approved for all applications.

Check with Shepherd Color representatives for local market availability.
 
Blue 10G513 represents one example of Shepherd Color’s dedication to providing new and impactful pigment chemistries to the coatings, plastics and other materials markets.

The new YInMn Blue 10G513 follows the company's one-of-a-kind NTP Yellow- a chromatic, bright, and opaque mid-shade yellow, and RTZ Orange- which together push the edge of the durable color envelope.

Shepherd's Arctic IR-reflective pigments give class leading properties in Total Solar Reflectance (TSR), masstone jetness, and tint strength. These highly useful pigments are also available in Shepherd's easily-dispersed Dynamix product line that allows the rapid development of new coatings and their effortless scale-up in production.



Photo courtesy Shepherdcolor.com