Four BONA azo lake salts, one chromophore (CAS 5858-81-1 backbone). How barium, calcium, strontium, and manganese cations change shade, lightfastness, alkali resistance, and price.
The PR48 series sits at the center of the global red pigment market for printing inks, decorative paint, and economical plastic colorants. All four laked salts share the same BONA (Beta Oxy Naphthoic Acid) azo chromophore, built on the CAS 5858-81-1 backbone, but differ in the metal cation used to precipitate the dye into a pigment lake. That single change in cation, from barium to calcium to strontium to manganese, drives a measurable shift in shade, lightfastness, alkali resistance, heat tolerance, and price. Specifying the wrong salt is the single most common BONA red mistake we see at the laboratory bench: a buyer asks for “PR48” and the formulator picks the cheapest grade without checking whether the binder system or substrate will tolerate it. This page disambiguates the four salts side by side and shows you exactly when to specify each.
| Property | PR48:1 (Barium) | PR48:2 (Calcium) | PR48:3 (Strontium) | PR48:4 (Manganese) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAS Number | 7585-41-3 | 7023-61-2 | 15782-05-5 | 5280-66-0 |
| Salt cation | Barium (Ba²⁺) | Calcium (Ca²⁺) | Strontium (Sr²⁺) | Manganese (Mn²⁺) |
| Shade | Bright bluish red | Yellower, warm red | Clean mid-shade red | Deep maroon / bordeaux red |
| Lightfastness (Blue Wool, mass tone) | 5-6 | 5-6 | 5-6 | 6-7 |
| Heat stability | 180-200°C | 180-200°C | 200-220°C | 220-240°C |
| Alkali resistance | Limited (2/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Good (4/5) |
| Acid resistance | Good (4/5) | Good (4/5) | Good (4/5) | Good (4/5) |
| Water resistance | Moderate (3/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Good (4/5) | Good (4/5) |
| Solvent bleed | Moderate (3/5) | Moderate (3/5) | Good (4/5) | Good (4/5) |
| Primary application | Offset / flexo packaging inks, decorative paint | Solvent and water-based paint, warm-shade inks | Specialty inks, niche decorative paint | Cement colorants, industrial coatings, premium paint |
| Indicative price band (FOB India) | Lowest (₹450-650 / kg) | Low (₹500-700 / kg) | Mid (₹700-900 / kg) | Highest (₹900-1300 / kg) |
PR48:1 is the workhorse barium salt of the BONA family and the cheapest red lake in the global market. It delivers a bright bluish-red mass tone with strong tinctorial strength and disperses cleanly in both solvent-borne and water-based ink vehicles. For offset, flexo, and gravure printing inks aimed at packaging and publication printing, PR48:1 is almost always the first salt a formulator reaches for because the Blue Wool 5-6 lightfastness is sufficient for the typical 6-12 month shelf life of a printed package, and the cost basis is impossible to beat.
It also has a meaningful role in decorative interior paint, low-cost rubber compounding, and inexpensive polyolefin masterbatch where the substrate is not processed above 200°C. The trade-offs are well understood: limited alkali resistance, moderate solvent bleed, and significant tint fade outdoors. Do not specify PR48:1 in cement-bound systems, lime wash, alkaline cleaners, or any binder that goes through a high-pH cure step. The barium cation laks neatly to the BONA acid groups but the lake bond is weakest of the four salts in the series, which is why alkali resistance suffers.
A practical note for ink procurement: PR48:1 is sometimes substituted from grey-market sources at 30-40% below the certified price band. Those grades almost always fail the EN ISO 14362 amines test or carry residual barium above the 0.1% soluble limit. Buyers in the EU, US, and Japan should always request a per-shipment 24-amines-free certificate and a heavy-metal soluble extractables report before approving a new vendor.
For full data sheet and shipping options, see Pigment Red 48:1.
PR48:2 swaps the barium for calcium and shifts the shade to a yellower, warmer red. The calcium lake is slightly more stable in mildly alkaline systems than PR48:1, which makes it the right choice for emulsion paint, water-based coatings, and warm-shade brand colors in printing inks where the buyer specifies a red with more orange undertone than PR48:1 delivers. Lightfastness is similar to PR48:1 at Blue Wool 5-6, and heat stability is also similar at 180-200°C, so the choice between PR48:1 and PR48:2 is almost always a shade decision, not a performance decision.
Cost is marginally higher than PR48:1 because calcium laking yields a slightly less concentrated pigment in tinctorial terms, but the price gap is small enough that you should not let cost drive the decision. Pick on shade match.
For full specifications, see Pigment Red 48:2.
PR48:3 is the least specified of the four salts because the strontium lake delivers a clean mid-shade red that sits between PR48:1 and PR48:2, with slightly better lightfastness and water resistance but at a meaningful price premium. The grade has a niche in specialty printing inks where a balanced shade matters and in certain decorative paint formulations where a clean mid-red is the brand color.
Most formulators who consider PR48:3 end up either dropping back to PR48:1 if cost matters or stepping up to PR48:4 if performance matters. That said, when a brand color falls exactly in the strontium shade window, no other PR48 salt will substitute without a visible color shift, so PR48:3 keeps a permanent place in the catalog.
For specifications, see Pigment Red 48:3.
PR48:4 is the premium grade of the BONA family and the only PR48 salt that punches above its weight on durability. The manganese lake produces a deep maroon to bordeaux red with Blue Wool 6-7 lightfastness, heat stability of 220-240°C, and good alkali resistance suitable for cement-bound systems, lime-rich substrates, and industrial coatings on alkaline metal pretreatments. This combination of shade depth and durability makes it the standard red lake for cement colorants and a serious option for premium decorative paint where the brand wants a deeper, richer red than PR48:1 can offer.
The price premium is real, typically 1.8-2.2x over PR48:1, and the shade is darker and less vivid, so PR48:4 cannot replace PR48:1 in a bright red ink without the customer noticing. Specify PR48:4 only when you actually need the alkali or heat performance, or when the deeper bordeaux shade is the brand requirement. For applications above 250°C or where Blue Wool 8 lightfastness is required, even PR48:4 falls short and you should move to PR122 (quinacridone), PR170 (naphthol AS), or PR254 (DPP).
PR48:4 is also worth considering in two-component industrial coatings on alkaline substrates such as galvanized steel, fresh concrete render, and lime-rich masonry, where PR48:1 fades within a single season. Field experience across Middle Eastern construction projects shows PR48:4 holds shade 18-24 months on lime-coated facades where PR48:1 starts shifting at the 6-month mark. The manganese cation also gives PR48:4 a small edge in bleed resistance against aromatic solvents in nitrocellulose ink systems, which has kept it specified in certain wood-finish coatings and gravure ink decks.
For specifications, see Pigment Red 48:4.
PR57:1 is sometimes confused with PR48:2 because both are calcium salts of azo chromophores, but the underlying chromophore is different. PR57:1 is built on the 4B-toner (BONA-equivalent but with a different coupling component) chromophore and delivers a cleaner rubine red that is the industry-standard process magenta in CMYK printing. If your customer is matching a Pantone process magenta or running a four-color offset job, PR57:1 is the right salt and PR48:2 will not substitute without a visible shade shift. If your customer is asking for a warm-shade spot color or an economical decorative red, PR48:2 is usually the better choice because the cost is lower.
For the head-to-head comparison and substitution rules, see PR48:1 vs PR57:1.
Kanani Dyes Chem LLP manufactures the full PR48 series in our Gujarat facility under ISO 9001/14001/45001/17025 certification. All four salts are REACH registered, tested per EN ISO 17234 and EN ISO 14362 for the 24 banned aromatic amines, and supplied with a per-shipment Certificate of Analysis and amines-free declaration. We ship free 50-100g samples of any salt for laboratory qualification, with samples reaching most destinations in 3-5 business days. Bulk MOQ is 25 kg per grade in standard kraft bags with PE liner on pallets, with a 7-10 day lead time from Mundra port for FOB shipments. Larger orders of 500 kg and above ship in 10-14 days, and we support 25 MT full container loads for distributors and converter customers across Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North America.
For market-specific pricing, regulatory documentation, and freight options, see our India sourcing overview or contact our technical team for a tailored quotation that covers shade match, performance qualification, and freight to your port.
Buyers comparing Indian PR48 supply against Chinese, Korean, or European sources should weigh three factors. First, total landed cost: India FOB Mundra is competitive with China FOB Shanghai for most PR48 grades, but Indian export documentation is generally faster on REACH dossiers and EUR.1 origin certificates. Second, regulatory paper trail: every Kanani shipment ships with REACH, RoHS, and 24-amines-free declarations, which compresses customs clearance time in the EU. Third, technical support: we provide free formulation advice on shade match, dispersion in your specific binder system, and qualification samples in sequence so your lab can move from sample to bulk in a single qualification cycle. For converters running multi-shade red ink decks or paint master batches across multiple PR48 salts, that single-source convenience often outweighs a 3-5% delta against alternative origins.
Choose PR48:1 for cost-sensitive bright bluish-red spot colors in offset and flexo packaging inks, decorative paint, low-cost plastic colorants, and rubber compounding. The cheapest in the series, with adequate Blue Wool 5-6 lightfastness for indoor and short-cycle outdoor work. Avoid in cement, alkaline cleaners, or anywhere alkali resistance matters.
Choose PR48:2 when you need a yellower-shade red that runs warmer than PR48:1, or when light alkali resistance matters more than the absolute brightest bluish red. Common in solvent-borne paints, water-based emulsion paints, and printing inks where a warm red is the brand requirement. Better alkali resistance than PR48:1 at a small price premium.
Choose PR48:3 when you want a clean mid-shade red between the bluish PR48:1 and the yellower PR48:2, with slightly better lightfastness than PR48:1. The strontium salt is the least common of the four because PR48:1 covers the bluish end and PR48:4 covers the durable end, but it has a niche in specialty inks and certain decorative paint shades.
Choose PR48:4 when alkali resistance, heat stability, and lightfastness all matter and the budget can support a 1.8-2.2x premium over PR48:1. The manganese salt delivers a deep maroon red with Blue Wool 6-7, holds shade in mildly alkaline systems, and survives short heat exposure better than the other PR48 salts. The right choice for cement-bound colorants, industrial coatings on alkaline substrates, and premium decorative paint.
All four are laked salts of the same BONA chromophore (CAS 5858-81-1 backbone) but differ in the metal cation. PR48:1 is the barium salt (bright bluish red), PR48:2 is the calcium salt (yellower, dirtier red), PR48:3 is the strontium salt (cleaner mid-shade red), and PR48:4 is the manganese salt (deep maroon red with the best alkali resistance). Salt choice changes shade, lightfastness, alkali resistance, and price.
PR48:4 (manganese salt) has the highest lightfastness in the series at Blue Wool 6-7 in mass tone, followed by PR48:2 (calcium) at Blue Wool 5-6, PR48:3 (strontium) at 5-6, and PR48:1 (barium) at 5-6 in mass tone with significant tint fade. None of the PR48 salts reach the Blue Wool 8 ceiling needed for automotive or 10-year exterior coatings, where quinacridone PR122 or DPP PR254 are the right choices.
PR48:4 uses a manganese salt instead of barium. Manganese laking is a more demanding process, the metal feedstock is more expensive, and the resulting pigment delivers measurably better alkali resistance, heat stability, and lightfastness. The price premium is typically 1.8-2.2x over PR48:1, and it is justified only when the application actually needs the alkali or heat performance, such as cement-bound systems or industrial coatings.
No, this is one of the most common specification mistakes. PR48:1 (barium) has limited alkali resistance and will shift shade or fade in cement, lime wash, or alkaline cleaners. For alkaline systems use PR48:4 (manganese) or PR48:2 (calcium) for better resistance, or step up to a heat-stable inorganic or DPP red for severe alkaline exposure.
Generally not. PR48:1, :2, and :3 lose color strength above 200-220°C, which makes them unsuitable for engineering plastics processed at 260-300°C. PR48:4 holds shade slightly better but still tops out around 220-240°C. For polyolefin masterbatch, ABS, PC, and PET, switch to PR122, PR170, or PR254 which deliver 280-300°C heat stability.
PR48:1 (barium) and PR48:2 (calcium) dominate the printing ink market. PR48:1 gives a bright bluish-red spot color that prints clean on packaging, while PR48:2 gives a yellower red useful in warm-shade brand colors. Both are economical, disperse easily in solvent and water-based ink vehicles, and offer good gloss. PR48:3 and PR48:4 are rarely used in printing inks because the price premium is not justified at print thicknesses.
Yes. We ship free 50-100g samples of PR48:1, PR48:2, PR48:3, and PR48:4 worldwide for qualification. Samples include a Certificate of Analysis with shade, oil absorption, density, and 24-amines-free declaration. Lead time for samples is 3-5 business days from Gujarat, India.
MOQ is 25 kg per grade for all four salts in standard packing (kraft paper bags with PE liner, palletized). Lead time is 7-10 days from Mundra port, India for FOB shipments. Larger orders of 500 kg and above ship in 10-14 days. We also support 25 MT FCL container shipments for distributor and converter customers.
Yes. All four salts are REACH registered and tested per EN ISO 17234 and EN ISO 14362 to confirm zero release of the 24 banned aromatic amines. Every shipment includes a 24-amines-free declaration, ROHS compliance, and full traceability documentation. PR48 salts contain barium, calcium, strontium, or manganese, all permitted under EU, US, and most major regulatory frameworks for the listed end uses.
Send your binder system, processing temperature, alkali exposure, and target shade. We will recommend the right salt and ship a free 50-100g sample for qualification.