A Caribbean-based paint manufacturer has made a landmark breakthrough in the global coatings industry, launching what experts are calling the world’s first single-base dry tinting system for decorative paint that promises to raise the bar for colour accuracy, operational efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Harris Paints, headquartered in Barbados, pulled back the curtain on its new Quantum Dry system at a launch event held this week at the company’s corporate office. The launch comes four years after the firm first revolutionized regional and global paint production with its pioneering Quantum i12 single-base colour system, a Caribbean-born innovation that redefined colour consistency for the industry.
The original Quantum i12 platform, which has been widely adopted by paint retailers across Antigua, was the first industry system to use a single base formula to produce cleaner, more vivid and reliably consistent colours than traditional multi-base alternatives. The success of that initial innovation led Harris Paints to spin its Quantum technology portfolio into a dedicated subsidiary, The Quantum Corporation, which has since expanded the platform with a proprietary artificial intelligence-powered colour matching tool and now licenses its technology to paint manufacturers across the globe. Today, paints produced using Caribbean-originated Quantum technology are sold as far as Italy and Bangladesh, with new market expansions planned in the coming year.
Quantum Dry, the latest iteration of the company’s single-base platform, leverages specialized solid pigment pearls developed by Vibrantz Technologies, a global leader in advanced materials and colour solutions, to tint single-base paint. This marks a sharp break from traditional made-to-order architectural paints, which rely on liquid colourants for tinting. According to Quantum Corporation leadership, the new dry pearl system delivers meaningful upgrades to three core pillars of paint production: colour accuracy, batch-to-batch repeatability, and environmental sustainability.
“The beauty of dry tinting lies in its fundamental simplicity,” said Angelo Vincenzi, co-CEO of The Quantum Corporation. “Precision control of liquid colourants to guarantee consistent performance requires a huge array of complex technical workarounds. Vibrantz has engineered a unique process that encapsulates pure, water-free pigment into a solid dry pearl. This makes the entire Quantum Dry system cleaner, simpler, and far more resilient to operational variables, and we see enormous untapped potential for this technology across the global industry.”
Dry pigment pearl tinting has grown in popularity across the global paint sector in recent years, particularly in European markets where environmental regulatory standards have grown increasingly strict. Until this launch, however, dry pigment technology was only available for traditional multi-base tint systems, and had not been adapted for the streamlined single-base approach that Quantum pioneered.
“Dry tinting is widely recognized as one of the most important forward-looking directions for the entire paint industry,” added Antonio Vasconcellos, the other co-CEO of The Quantum Corporation. “Quantum Dry represents a fundamentally more sustainable approach to tinting paint. By cutting down on unnecessary additives, rolling out more easily recyclable packaging, and shrinking the overall carbon footprint of the tinting process, the system dramatically reduces environmental impact without any compromise to paint or colour performance. In fact, the specialized dispensing process for the dry pearls actually delivers more accurate and repeatable colour results than traditional liquid tinting, building on the already unique advantage of our Quantum i12 single-base framework.”
Don Gooding, Colour Delivery Manager for the Harris Paints Group, emphasized the tangible operational benefits that the original Quantum i12 system has already delivered to regional paint retailers, noting that the new dry technology will build on those gains. “Quantum i12 was a true game-changer for our business. It allowed us to offer retailers across the Caribbean major operational advantages and huge efficiency gains, from lower inventory and storage requirements to simpler stock management, all while maintaining exceptional colour performance standards,” Gooding explained. “It streamlined and simplified the entire colour production process, and it’s delivering better results than ever for colour consistency and colour matching. We are incredibly proud to be the first paint supplier in the world to partner with Quantum and Vibrantz to bring this new dry technology to single-base tint systems, and we are eager to refine its integration across our operations as we scale.”
Harris Paints will first roll out the new Quantum Dry tinting system in its most eco-conscious product line: Ulttima Pure Zero VOC Interior Flat Emulsion, which will be the first commercial product available with the new tint technology. Initially, the system will only be available at the company’s Wildey retail location in Barbados, as the team executes a deliberate phased rollout plan to ensure long-term performance, colour consistency, and scalable production.
“This launch is not just another new product rollout for us—it’s a historic first step, and it reinforces Harris Paints’ track record of bringing first-to-market innovation to the global paint industry,” Gooding noted. “This innovation also highlights how Quantum technology has allowed Harris to expand its global footprint dramatically. With Quantum Dry, we aren’t just launching a new colour system—we’re helping shape the future of sustainable paint technology for the entire world.”