CICPs are made by calcination (strong heating in air) of blends of metal oxides and/or oxide precursors such as metal salts, hydrates, and carbonates. Calcination temperatures typically range from 650 to 1300 °C. At relatively low temperatures, all the raw ingredients decompose to form the metal oxides. At higher temperatures, this oxide mix becomes reactive. Metal and oxide ions become mobile and interdiffuse to create a homogeneous solid. The ions in the solid then rearrange to a stable crystalline structure that is determined by the metals present, the O/M ratio, and the calcining temperature. This new structure is the color pigment. Following calcination, CICPs are milled to achieve a specific particle size, often washed, and finally blended for uniformity.
Three main groups of CICPs are commercially produced. Titanates, which use a titanium dioxide base, aluminates, which use an aluminum oxide base, and chromites and ferrites, which have chromium and/or iron oxide bases.