Ceramic pigments are inorganic compounds that keep their colour at firing temperature and in contact with molten glaze. Most are metal oxides or crystal structures that hold a colouring metal.
- Cobalt compounds give blue.
- Chromium compounds give green.
- Iron oxides give reds, browns and blacks.
- Zircon-based pigments carry vanadium for turquoise, praseodymium for yellow and iron for coral pink.
The inks of digital tile printers are pigments of this kind, ground very fine and suspended in a liquid carrier.