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A colourant (British spelling) or colorant (American spelling) is a substance that is used to change the colour of a surface or material. Colourants can be used for many purposes including printing or painting, and for colouring many types of materials such as foods and plastics.

Colourants work by absorbing varying amounts of light at different wavelengths (or frequencies) of its spectrum, transmitting (if translucent) or reflecting/scattering the remaining light. Most colourants can be classified as (or as containing) dyes, pigments, or some combination of these. Typically, dyes are largely translucent while pigment particles are partially or entirely opaque.

Colourant compounds can be classified chemically as inorganic (often from a mineral source) and organic (often from a biological source).

Paints and inks are colourants that are themselves usually made from pigment and/or and dye colourants, along with binders, fillers and additional components.

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 {{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
-A '''colourant''' (British spelling) or '''colorant''' (American spelling) is something added to something else to cause it to have a different [[colour]]. Most colourants can be classified as (or as containing) [[dye]]s, [[pigment]]s, or some combination of these.
+A '''colourant''' (British spelling) or '''colorant''' (American spelling) is a substance that is used to change the [[colour]] of a surface or material. Colourants can be used for many purposes including [[printing]] or [[painting]], and for colouring many types of materials such as [[food colouring|foods]] and [[plastic colorant|plastics]].
+Colourants work by absorbing varying amounts of [[light]] at different [[wavelength]]s (or [[frequencies]]) of its [[visible spectrum|spectrum]], transmitting (if translucent) or reflecting/scattering the remaining light.  Most colourants can be classified as (or as containing) [[dye]]s, [[pigment]]s, or some combination of these.  Typically, dyes are largely translucent while pigment particles are partially or entirely opaque.
-Colourants (or their colourant ingredients) can also be categorized by their chemical classification, such as [[inorganic]] (often from a mineral source) and [[organic compound|organic]] (often from a [[biological pigment|biological]] source).
+Colourant compounds can be classified chemically as [[inorganic]] (often from a mineral source) and [[organic compound|organic]] (often from a [[biological pigment|biological]] source).
-Colourants can be used for many purposes including [[printing]] or [[painting]] on a substrate surface, and for colouring many types of materials such as [[food colouring|foods]] and [[plastic colorant|plastics]].
 [[Paint]]s and [[ink]]s are colourants that are themselves usually made from pigment and/or and dye colourants, along with binders, fillers and additional components.