Glazes, fluxes, enamels, and colors, ceramic and glass-Imports for consumption— Revenue. Fusible and glass enamel, n. s. p. f.—Imports for consumption—Revenue. 1 July 1 to Oct. 3, 1913, under act of 1909. 2 Oct. 4, 1913, to June 30, 1914, under act of 1913. Colors, glazes, fluxes, and enamels, ceramic and glass-Rates of duty. Act of Par. Tariff classification or description. Rates of duty, specific and ad valorem. All***colors, whether dry or mixed, or ground in water or oil, in- All*** colors, and pigments, whether dry or mixed, or ground in All*** colors, pigments, *** smalts and frostings, whether crude 25 per cent ad valorem. Do. 30 per cent ad valorem. Do. 15 per cent ad valorem. Glass enamel, white, for watch and clock dials—Rates of duty. Tariff classification or description. Rates of duty, specific and ad valorem. 1913 96 Fusible and glass enamel, not specially provided for in this section. 45 per cent ad valorem. 25 per cent ad valorem. Do. Do. 20 per cent ad valorem. COURT AND TREASURY DECISIONS. Powders composed in different proportions of silica, alumina, alkalies, tin, copper, zinc, magnesia, etc., were held dutiable under paragraph 6 of the act of 1909 as ceramic colors. (Reusche v. United States, 3 Ct. Cust. Appls., 387.) Colors imported in 10-pound tins to be transferred to tubes for sale to artists and to schools without further manipulation were held properly classified under the second provision of paragraph 63 of the act of 1913. (Abstract 3708, T. D. 35020.) Merchandise invoiced as dunkelpurpur, a ceramic color and also a mixture of which gold constituted the element of chief value, was held dutiable under this paragraph as a ceramic color and not under paragraph 65 as a mixture of which gold constituted the element of chief value. (Drakenfeld & Co. v. United States, 9 Ct. Cust. Appls. 124, T. D. 37979.) Enamel having the appearance of glass or a crystalline aspect, imported in thin, flattened, pressed, variously colored cakes, which in its use is finely powdered, mixed with water to a paste, applied to the metal article to be enameled, and then fired by intense heat, thereby fixing it to the surface of the metal, is dutiable under this paragraph as fusible enamel, and not under the provision for "all ceramic and glass fluxes, glazes, enamels, and colors, * * * n. s. p. f." in paragraph 63. (G. A. 7873, T. D. 36228.) So-called "enamel for jewelry" or ceramic color which, while shown to be one of the ingredients of an enamel, can also be used by itself as an enamel in enameling jewelry, is likewise dutiable under this paragraph. (Abstract 40875.) In the act of 1913 there are three provisions for enamels all similar in chemical composition and method of manufacture: Paragraph 63, for all cermaic and glass fluxes, glazes, enamels, and colors, whether crude, dry, mixed, or ground with water or oil or with solutions other than oil, not specially provided for in this section, 15 per cent ad valorem"; paragraph 96, for "fusible and glass enamel, not specially provided for in this section, 20 per cent ad valorem"; and paragraph 493, which exempts from duty "glass enamel, white, for watch and clock dials." (See also survey on Paints of all kinds.) COLOR LAKES. GENERAL INFORMATION. DESCRIPTION AND USES. * Tariff act of 1913.-Paragraph 63. "* * all color lakes, whether dry or in pulp, not specially provided for in this section, 20 per cent ad valorem. * * color Tariff act of 1916.-Section 500, Group III. "All * lakes * * *not otherwise specially provided for in this title, when obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from any of the products provided for in Groups I and II, natural'alizarin and indigo, and * or color lakes obtained, derived, or manufactured therefrom, 30 per cent ad valorem." * * Section 501 levies an additional duty of 5 cents per pound. Color lakes or lake pigments are composed of a coloring principal absorbed by or precipitated on an inert and insoluble base. The base of the color lakes is almost invariably inorganic and generally, although not invariably, white or transparent. The term color lake was formerly used commercially to designate those pigment colors produced by fixing the coloring principals on a transparent base, such as aluminum hydroxide. This no longer holds true and the term includes all pigments produced by fixing a dye on an inert base. The base materials used include aluminum hydroxide, alumina, blanc fixe, or precipitated barium sulphate, lead sulphate, lithopone, ground barites, gypsum, whiting, china clay, calcium carbonate precipitate chalk), barium carbonate, and the native clays, ochers, and umbers. In general, any inert and insoluble body that can be powdered readily and whose natural color does not injure the desired shade of the lake may be used as the base. The features generally sought in the bases or carriers are (1) covering power, (2) easy working, and (3) fastness to outside influences, such as alkalies, the weather, acids, and light. Color lakes, according to the coloring matter used, may be divided into two groups, depending on whether the coloring matter or dye is of natural or coal-tar origin. 1. Natural coloring matters (a) of vegetable origin, (b) of animal origin. 2. Coal-tar dyes. Color lakes, when first introduced, were all derived from natural dyes, but after the introduction of dyes manufactured synthetically from coal tar the group of color lakes manufactured from them soon became of primary importance. The coal-tar color lakes are now by far the most important class. Color lakes may be subdivided according to the method of fixing the coloring matter on the inert base as follows: 1. Coal-tar dyes precipitated by barium chloride. 2. Coal-tar dyes precipitated by lead salts (lead acetate and nitrate.) 3. Coal-tar dyes precipitated by tannin or tannin-tartar emetic. 4. Coal-tar dyes precipitated by alumina. 5. Coloring matters directly produced by precipitation. 6. Coloring matters absorbed by siliceous material. This classification can not be regarded as strictly accurate as there are exceptions, and certain conflicts between groups. The above classifications of color lakes are all technical; the commercial classification is based on the actual color of the lake produced and not on the method of precipitation or class of dye used. Color lakes are placed on the market in the form of a powder, irregular lumps, regular shapes drops, cones, tablets, cakes and in pulp (water paste) which is used especially in the manufacture of wall paper. DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. Raw materials. The base materials generally used in the manufacture of color lakes have been enumerated above. The more expensive and transparent color lakes are made on aluminum hydroxide as the base. These colors are used in artists' colors and in lithographic printing. The development of multi-color lithography has been directly dependent on the development of these transparent color lakes. For decorative paints and wall paper printing this transparency is undesirable and opaque bases are used, which are also generally cheaper. The cost of a color lake is generally dependent on the cost of the dye rather than on the cost of the base. Process of manufacture. In general the production of color lakes is a comparatively simple industrial operation. It requires no special or complicated machinery, but careful control is necessary to produce the desired shade of color. The manufacture consists in mixing the base with water, the solution of dye is then added to the mixture in agitation and in the case of lakes produced by absorption of the color, this completes the fixing of the dye on the base. In cases where a precipitant is used it is now added to the mixture of base and dye with constant agitation until the dye has been completely precipitated on to the base. The color lake is then filtered from the solution and dried if the dry product is desired. Most of the coal-tar dyes used are soluble in water. In some cases where the calcium or magnesium salt of the dye is insoluble the water used must be softened so as to prevent precipitation of the dye on solution in water. In other cases, alcohol, acetic acid, and other chemicals are necessary to dissolve the dyes. Production and consumption.-The total production of color lakes is not available as the output is combined under the paint and varnish industry with other paint pigments. The domestic output, however, supplies practically the entire domestic consumption as imports are small. The production of color lakes manufactured from coal-tar dyes as shown by the annual census of dyes taken by the Tariff Commission was 5,092,558 pounds valued at $2,764,064 in 1917, and 9,590,537 pounds valued at $5,020,023 in 1918. Red lakes including lithol and para reds were the most important in 1918; the production was about 2,500,000 pounds, or about one-fourth of the total output. The other colors in order of output were: Yellow, scarlet, green, and blue lakes. The 1919 output was 7,569,921 pounds. IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED STATES. The imports of color lakes prior to 1914 were combined with all other paints, pigments, and colors. The maximum imports since then were valued at $153,430 in 1915. Imports then decreased, until in 1918 only $8,301 were entered. This decrease might be accounted for by coal-tar color lakes becoming dutiable after 1916, at another rate of duty, but the imports of coal-tar lakes have been small. Imports have been less than 1 per cent of the domestic production of coal-tar lakes alone, which is the most important group of color lakes. PRICES. The price for coal-tar color lakes in 1918 ranged from 27 cents per pound for green lakes to $1.27 for lithol red lakes. The average price for all color lakes was 52 cents per pound in 1918, and 54 cents in 1917. (Based on average prices reported by manufacturers to the Tariff Commission.) The price of para red toners, concentrated, was about 60 cents. per pound prior to 1915, when the price started to increase and during 1916 the price was about $2.50 or about four times the prewar prices. In 1917 the price declined and in 1918-19 was between $1.50 and $1.70 per pound. During 1920 the price increased to $1.90 per pound. The price of carmine No. 40, bulk, 11-pound tins, was about $2.75 prior to the war. During the last quarter of 1914 the price increased to $3.50, which was the price in force until the second quarter of 1916 when there was a further increase to $5 per pound. The price since then has ranged from $4.20 in the latter part of 1917, to $5.75 in the third quarter of 1920. |