Carmine (color)

Carmine is the general term for a particularly deep red color. Some rubies are colored the color shown in the color chart below as rich carmine. The deep red color shown at right as carmine is the color of the raw unprocessed pigment, but lighter, richer, or brighter colors are produced when the raw pigment is processed, some of which are shown below.

The color carmine comes from the pigment carmine, which is a deep red color obtained from the carminic acid produced by some scale insects, such as the cochineal and the Polish cochineal, and is used as a general term for a particularly deep red color. The pigment carmine is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, rouge, yogurt, cosmetics, food additives, and crimson ink.

The first recorded use of carmine as a color name in English was in 1523.^[1]

1. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 192 Color Sample: Page 29 Plate 3 Color Sample K5 (Note: The color sample matches the color shown above as Rich Carmine.)