The application of a density gradient column (DGC) method using sodium polytungstate (SPT) solutions as the medium was investigated for determining the encapsulation efficiency of 11-30% pigment volume concentration (PVC)) latex particles prepared by the miniemulsification process. The encapsulation efficiencies for 11, 20, and 30% PVCs were found to be 100% of the TiO2 encapsulated inside 86.3, 98, and 98.9% of the styrene/n-butyl acrylate copolymer, respectively. The copolymer not participating in the encapsulation (free copolymer) was found in the 1.04 g/mL density layer of the DGC. Particle size analysis by DLS (dynamic light scattering) showed that the encapsulated particle size increased with increasing density. Thus, the number of TiO2 particles (primary particles) inside each encapsulated particle increased to accommodate both the increased size and density. The results obtained by DLS for each DGC layer of the 30% PVC system were confirmed qualitatively by TEM in terms of the increasing encapsulated particle size and broadening of the size distribution as the density increased in the DGC. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.