Generally, pigments and paints are not bound chemically to the covered surface, water-soluble dies react with fibers in a mordant bath. Apart from colored, decorative paints, white and black pigments have high importance. White titanium dioxide plays an important role in the painting industry, due to its stability, high covering effect, and UV-light absorbing property. Approximately 4.6 million tons of TiO2 pigment are produced annually worldwide, and its use continues to rise. On the other end of paints, carbon black is essential as a toner of the laser printer and filler in tires and other plastics, also due to its stability and UV-light absorbing capability.

Powder coatings are a solvent-free painting form where pigment is mixed with a polymer, a carrier material that melts in the painting oven so that the pigments adhere to metal objects. Pigments are micronized to have a smooth surface and become miscible with polymer beads. High shear mixing is necessary to break the force of cohesive powders and form polymer-pigment particles avoiding sedimentation in further processing. The video below shows a high-shear mixer for this purpose with a conical shape that provides a vertical upward movement along the wall.