Publisher’s Note to Launch Colorants—A Scientific Journal of Dyes, Pigments and Color Chemistry

On 11 May 2010, the code ISSN 2079-6447 was obtained for Colorants following an application to the ISSN Center in Paris [1]. After a particularly extensive period of preparation, we are pleased to formally launch Colorants as a journal dedicated to dyes, pigments, and other functional colorants [2].

Having conducted postdoctoral research in Dr. Vittorio Rasetti’s laboratories at the Pharmaceutical Division of Ciba in Basel [3], I was transferred within the company to the Dyestuffs Division in 1994 and received 1.5 years of full training in the intricacies of dyestuff research, development, and production. These three stages involved initially small-scale quantities (g) in research laboratories (Dr. Hans Morawietz), scaled up to intermediate scale (kg) in development (Dr. Gerry Murphy), and finally large scale (tons) in the production plants with the associated chemical, chemical engineering, safety, and logistical problems and solutions. I also established contacts with chemists at the Pigment Division of Ciba, where the famous red pigment DPP [4] was developed and marketed widely. DPP [4] was highlighted as a molecule of interest when the inaugural MDPI journal Molecules was launched in 1996 [5,6] and aside from its first use as the famous Ferrari red it now contributes to the color of the flat screens of our PCs and smartphones. I also cited the book Color Chemistry from Professor Zollinger [7] in my editorial [6]. The experience I gained at the Dyestuffs Division of Ciba, particularly scaling up, has been extremely useful for me in managing our samples and publishing services at MDPI.

Prof. Dr. Anthony Harriman has been appointed leader of the Editorial Board as the Editor-in-Chief of Colorants. I am confident that our collaboration will be instrumental in building a large readership for Colorants and making it a successful journal [8].

Using the same procedure as for other MDPI journals, we will maintain a fast and rigorous peer-review process [9] for this new journal. I hope you enjoy publishing with us.