Now that the SCAQMD has guaranteed a place for Zero VOC Colorants it is time to focus on performance. The coatings industry has been moving away from the traditional 12 A to L colorants. The consumer is demanding better performance and the contractors are looking to cut their labor cost. This is bringing in a whole new range of pigments. Contractors are demanding higher hiding pigments. The traditional AXX Organic Yellow, T Medium Yellow and R Organic Red have poor hiding and performance. Red 254, Yellow 184 and Yellow 139 offer significantly higher hiding and lightfastness. Titanium Reds and Yellows come close to offering single coat coverage. Today’s automatic dispensers allow for accurate dispensing at very low levels. Therefore it is possible to use higher strength colorants and still hit your pastels in quarts. These higher strength colorants allow the paint formulator to increase the titanium level in their medium or deep base and still hit their colors, thus increasing the opacity of the coating. With the green movement well established and oil prices at record highs everyone is looking for ways to cut their energy costs. IR reflective pigments offer a benefit to the consumer as well as the environment.